Into the Hollow
by Kashoku1
Summary: Dean lost everything in the fire: His parents, his home, his horses. He wants nothing to do with horses anymore, but when Bobby approaches him with an opportunity to be a groom for a top Eventer in the US, he can't refuse. Castiel Novak seems like the epitome of every English-riding douche out there at first, but the more Dean sticks around, the more he realizes that Castiel isn't.
1. Out of the Fire

**A/N: Well friends, here it is! I'm so sorry I was unable to finish For a Horse With Wings, but I really feel that Into the Hollow is everything that story should have been. I'm so excited for this story and I know that we can finish it together! Come ride with me, everyone!**

A dense layer of fog blanketed the acres of Kansas farm land, the horses that stood in the pastures completely masked from view. Dean's breath left his mouth in a wisp of white, the cold air causing him to draw his coat tighter around himself. His head turned slightly to the left to acknowledge the old screen door creaking open. A hand holding a steaming cup of coffee reached out towards him and Dean took it with a nod of gratitude, "Thanks."

"Last one is leaving this morning," Jo mentioned casually, wrapping her arms around herself.

Dean's jaw clenched tightly and he swallowed hard. "Yeah." He lifted the edge of the cup to his lips and took a small swig of the black liquid. It had been six months, two weeks, and four days since the fire. It had been an accident – a faulty wire. He had been at the barn with the horses. To say Dean didn't have survivor's guilt would have been a flat out lie. His parents hadn't been able to get out of the house before it burnt to the ground.

"You can stay here, you know," Jo said simply, sensing what was going through her friend's mind.

There was a small twitch of a smile, but Dean shook his head. "You and your mom have done enough as it is. Besides, I know you all don't have enough money to pay me and I need money."

"She can't pay you," Jo agreed, "But you have a free place to live and free meals. That has to count for something."

Dean did smile at that. "It does, and it has." The insurance money and selling off the horses had managed to pay Sam's college debt from Stanford, but it had left nothing for Dean.

Jo tilted her head in thought, "You could start riding again."

Dean let out a scoff, "Yeah, with what horses?"

Jo shrugged, "You still have Baby."

Dean had refused to let go of Baby. He had been there when she was born, and the pure black mare had become his favorite mount. Ellen had offered to let Baby stay at their farm, and Dean quickly agreed to it. Baby had won him money in many cutting competitions, but he had sold all his tack and he no longer had a truck or trailer. It was too much to ask of Ellen and Jo. "Nah…I think that part of my life is over."

Jo hummed thoughtfully as she took a seat in the rocking chair next to Dean. "So, what are you gonna do?"

"No idea," Dean admitted, his green eyes watching as the fog slowly started to part to show the backs of the horses in the pasture.

"Well," Jo let herself begin to rock back and forth and she took a sip of her own coffee, "maybe Bobby can help you find something."

Dean gave her a questioning look. "Bobby?" Bobby had always been more of a father to him than John, helping the family out with their farm. His new job had kept him busy in Virginia, and Dean had not talked to him since the funeral.

"Oh, Mom didn't tell you?" Jo asked in surprise. "He should be here in a few hours. He was finally able to take a few days off and wanted to come visit."

"That's because he wanted to surprise you," Ellen spoke from behind and she stepped out onto the porch with her own cup of coffee.

"Whoops," Jo cringed apologetically.

Bobby was coming. Dean couldn't help but smile. It would be good to see that cranky old bastard again. "He driving in?"

"Hell no," Ellen said with a smile. "Not all of us are terrified of flying like you."

Dean gave a scowl, "Flying death traps."

Ellen gave him an amused pat on the shoulder. "I've got to head out soon to pick him up. The horses all fed?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded.

"Good. I need you to fix the fence in the east pasture then while I'm gone. Ruger busted it again. Grass is always greener," she mumbled in irritation as she stuck her hand in her pocket.

Ruger was a handful. He had a lot of talent as a reining horse, but he was always getting himself into mischief in the pastures. This would be the third time he had fixed that fence this month. With a groan he stood and took another swig of coffee. "Alright. I'll grab some grub and head on out there."

"Good," Ellen smiled. "Shouldn't take you long. "

Dean grabbed one of the frozen breakfast sandwiches from the freezer and popped it into the microwave as he grabbed his work gloves and shoved them into his back pocket. Naturally, Ruger liked to break the furthest fence away, so Dean saddled up Baby and packed his repair supplies in a saddle pack to ride out to the fence. He let out a groan as they approached the destroyed panels. "Stupid horse," he growled as he dismounted and secured the reins around the horn so Baby wouldn't step on them while she began to graze. Shrugging off his jacket knowing he would quickly warm up he grabbed his supplies and set to work.

By the time he finished the fog had cleared and some of the clouds in the sky had began to part. It would turn out to be a great day. Wiping his brown he placed his foot in the saddle and mounted back up on Baby to head back to the barn. Ellen's truck was in the driveway of the house as promised. Dean made quick work of untacking Baby and ensuring she was brushed off and cooled out before turning her out and heading for the house.

Bobby had been in conversation with Ellen at the kitchen table, but he instantly stopped mid-sentence when Dean entered the front door. He was instantly out of his chair, "Dean!"

"Bobby!" Dean grinned, taking Bobby into a tight hug. Bobby gave him a few pats on the back before giving a final squeeze and releasing him. "You look good, you son of a bitch."

"Back 'atcha, son," Bobby smiled, his eyes watering. "How have you been?"

Dean gave a small shrug of uncertainty, "As good as I can be. Ellen has been making sure I'm well taken care of."

Ellen gave a scoff, "Yeah, so much so he's eating me out of house and home. That boy can put them down."

"Some things never change," Bobby smiled. "Well, come on boy, I know you have work to do around here, so let me help ya."

"Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?" Dean asked in surprise as Bobby pulled on his coat.

"I'm away from my boss. Trust me, that's vacation enough," Bobby assured him. "I don't mind the work, and it'll give me a chance to catch up with you."

Dean certainly wouldn't mind the help with the barn chores, and even if Bobby just stood there and watch he'd appreciate the man's presence. "Alright, then."

"Come back in at noon. I'll have some lunch for you," Ellen called out as they headed out the door.

Bobby helped Dean gather supplies for the stalls and they began to work making mostly small talk until Bobby decided to take the conversation a bit further. "How have you been, really?"

Dean dumped the load of stool into the wheel barrow and paused in his work. "Honestly? Shit." He leaned up against the handle of the rake and sighed. "I lost my parents, I lost my house, and I lost all my horses except for Baby. How else am I supposed to feel?"

"You're supposed to feel like shit," Bobby agreed, "But I know you, son. You like to keep it all bottled up and eat atcha. I'm surprised you even admitted you're feeling that way."

"Yeah, well," he used his foot to get the rake below the clumped up shavings, "half a year is a little too long to keep up the charade, I guess. I'm also unemployed, and the funds for Sammy are going to run out by the end of the year. Going to school is the only bit of normalcy the kid has had since all of this shit happened. I don't want to ruin that."

Bobby nodded and rubbed at his beard thoughtfully. "Well, it's not ideal, but I do know my boss is hiring. He's a pretty big dick, but the money ain't half-bad if you can put up with him."

"Yeah, doing what? Repairing fences for the rest of my life?" Dean asked with a little bit more bite than he meant. He really was grateful for what Ellen had done for him, but doing regular barn chores for the rest of his life really wasn't what he was looking for. Of course, he had helped out at Winchester Farms, but his parents had hired Bobby for that so that he and his father could concentrate on their horses.

"I ain't out to give you my job, boy," Bobby fired back accusingly.

Dean lifted an eyebrow, realizing he really didn't know what Bobby was even doing these days in Virginia. "Fine. Doing what?"

"I work for the man that goes by Castiel Novak and his sister, Anna Milton. They've got a big farm, lots of money. They have two barns with apartments above them. It wouldn't be much privacy, but there's room enough for a pull out bed in mine."

Dean nodded as he took in Bobby's words. He needed a free place more than he needed privacy at this point. "Ok, and what would I be doing?"

"Castiel can't seem to keep a groom around longer than a month. He's one of the top riders in the US right now, so he attracts a lot of people, but scares them away just as easily," Bobby explained.

"Never heard of him," Dean mentioned as he lifted the wheel barrow and moved it back out of the now clean stall.

"That's because he ain't a western rider," Bobby said simply.

Dean straightened with a frown. "_English_? I'm not working for a stuck-up English-riding douchebag."

Bobby rolled his eyes and set his rake against the stall wall. "Boy, the doucebags aren't limited to English riders. Yeah, he's bit of a dick, but if you can just brush him off for a few months he gets a lot more tolerable. And he pays well. You need money, don't you?"

"Bobby, I don't know the first thing about English riding!" Dean argued, throwing his hands up in a defeated motion.

"So learn!" Bobby argued back. "Despite it all, Castiel does like me and his sister _loves_ me. If I recommend you, I know they'll give you time to learn. Most of those kids that want to come in and work for Cas want to become some sort of apprentice and learn from him. Cas has students for that, so he never pays a mere groom much mind. You aren't worried about that. You can concentrate on the job, and that's what he needs."

Dean swallowed nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck in confusion. English. It might as well have had nothing to do with horses it was so different. The horses were different, the tack was different, the clothes were different. He'd be driving blind into this. "So you want me to go all the way to Virginia to be a bitch-boy for an asshole who rides something I know nothing about?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Bobby said with crossed arms. "You got any better options right now?"

No. He didn't. With a defeated sigh and slumped shoulders he asked, "How much we talking?"

Bobby gave an uncertain shrug, "Don't know exactly what he pays the grooms, but I know I make forty a year, and they give me paid time off. It won't make me rich, but I often times don't even have to work 8 hour days depending on the days. And I live rent free."

Forty-thousand just for barn chores and maintenance? Jesus. There's no way he could turn that down. Surely he could just suck it up and deal with this Cas guy for that kind of cash. "Fine, but I'm not flying."

/*/

That night, Dean opened up his laptop and did a search on his hopefully future employer. Castiel Novak, part-owner of Lazarus Equestrian Center in The Plains, Virginia, was currently the fourth ranked rider in the United States in Eventing. The man was only a few years older than him with dark unruly hair and blue eyes like Dean had never seen before. His jaw was chiseled beneath a dark stubble. Dean had to admit the rider was very attractive, but he could see the attitude Bobby accused him of having in his demeanor even in photos. Anna was the complete opposite. She had firey red hair and a bright smile. She used to ride Eventing until she got in an accident and now competed at the Grand Prix level of Dressage.

Curious about the facility, he Googled Lazarus Equestrian Center and clicked on the link that lead him to the website. His jaw dropped instantly at the photos that came in and out on the screen. The facility had hundreds of gorgeous green acres with multiple arenas, galloping lanes, and a full-fledged cross-country course. The indoor arena was completely enclosed with windows and the barns were so extravagant that he wouldn't mind renting a stall to live in. It was incredible. He'd seen some pretty pimped out farms in his day, but they were nothing compared to this. Dean wondered if Bobby's living area was this extravagant, too.

Dean wondered why Bobby hadn't talked it up more than he had. Did Castiel really have his head stuck so far up his ass people couldn't tolerate it for _this_? Dean just didn't believe it. "I can't believe I'm going to drive 19 hours for a job I don't even know if I have yet." He closed the lid to his laptop with a sigh and pulled out his phone, scrolling down to his brother's name.

It rang several times without an answer, and he was sure that it would go to voicemail, but at the last second his brother answered.

"_Dean! Hey!"_

Dean smiled at his brother's voice, "Sammy! How's it going?"

"_Good! Sorry, I couldn't find my phone under all the freaking paperwork on my desk."_

"Just checking in," Dean spoke casually as he stood and began pacing around his room. "Wanted to see how you were doing."

He could almost hear the smile in his brother's voice. "_Uh, I'm good. Real good. The job's tough, but good."_

"I know you'll have your name up on the door before you know it," Dean smiled, happy that his brother was doing what he always wanted. He loved horses, but that life had never been for him. "How's Jess?"

"_She's good. She's really enjoying her job at the museum. We don't see each other as much as I'd like right now, but it'll get better. What about you? How are Ellen and Jo?_"

"Good, they are both good ," Dean responded as he stopped his pacing and took a seat at the edge of the bed. "Bobby came to visit."

"_Bobby?_ _Wow, how is he?"_

"He looks good. He's got a sweet gig out in Virginia at a fancy English barn," Dean explained, his right leg bouncing up and down anxiously. "He uh…wants me to go work with him out there."

"_At an English barn? What would you be doing? You don't know anything about English," _His brother said, clearly surprised.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Dean agreed, rubbing his hand across his face. "But it pays and, Jesus Sammy, you should look at the photos on the website."

"_Well, I guess if you are just doing barn work that you don't need to know anything about English_."

"Yeah, about that," Dean flinched. "The job opening is for a groom."

"_Dean, not to be the bad guy here, but do you really think they'll hire someone for that job who doesn't know anything about the discipline?"_

Dean gave an absent shrug, "Yeah, I said the same thing when Bobby asked me, but apparently the head rider is somewhat of a douchebag and no one can stand working for him more than a month. Bobby thinks I'll be able to handle it and that'll be enough for them to hire me."

"_Why don't you just stay at Ellen's place and help them out with the horses? You can help Jo show,"_ Sam suggested.

"Ellen can't afford to pay me anything right now, and as much as free lodging and food helps, it doesn't pay for clothes or gas or anything else. I need money, Sam," Dean growled, trying not to sound frustrated.

"_Ok, ok,"_ Sam said. "_You know if you ever need money you can ask, right?"_

"I'm not taking your money," Dean stated firmly. "DC is expensive, and if I know anything about you and Jess you'll probably having to support another human being before you know it. I'll do some research between now and the trip and just learn as much as I can. Besides, who can resist my perky nipples?"

Dean could practically hear his brother rolling his eyes. _"Well, good luck. Let me know how it goes, ok?" _

With a sigh Dean agreed, "Yeah, sure thing. I'll talk to you later."

"_Yeah. Bye, Dean."_

Dean hung up the phone and held it to his lips. Looks like he was headed to Virginia.

/*/

Bobby – the sneaky bastard – hadn't even bothered booking a return ticket, hoping Dean would agree to go back to Virginia with him. For the first hour of the drive, Dean had ignored his surrogate father, but he couldn't stay mad at the man. He was only trying to help. As they drove through Kentucky, Bobby had Dean pull off the main highway. Dean watched as they came up to a massive farm with a sign that read: Kentucky Horse Park.

"Turn in here," Bobby instructed.

Dean put the turn signal on in the Impala and did as instructed, but still asked, "Why?"

"You want to see what you're getting into, don't you? This place hosts a lot of different events, Western included, but the biggest Eventing show in the US is held here every April. An old buddy of mine works here and he said I could bring you around."

Dean drove up the long driveway, looking around in awe at how big the park was. There were several barns and an arena off to the left, but none of that is what caught his eye. It was the stadium that stood tall and proud in front of him. "The hell?"

"The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, or better just known as the Rolex. Brings in tens of thousands of spectators that weekend and riders from all over the world," Bobby explained as he had Dean park the car outside one of the barns. Both men got out of the car and Dean followed Bobby up the road towards the stadium. "Eventing is basically a triathlon. Day one is Dressage, day two is cross-country, and day three is show jumping. Dressage and show jumping are held in the stadium, and cross-country is any green grass you see."

None of it made any sense to Dean. "What do you mean any green grass?" Bobby motioned for him to follow him off the road onto the grass and took him towards a giant log that was just randomly lying in the middle of the way. As he looked around, he noticed it wasn't the only obstacle lying out there. "What are these?"

"Jumps," Bobby said simply. "Most of the jumps the y can move and store away during the off-season, but a few stay out here all year long."

Dean's eyes widened, "The horses jump _that_?" The obstacles were huge. No way Baby could ever make it over one of those.

"Sure do. And that one's pretty small compared to some I've seen Cas jump. It takes a lot of courage and strength for the horses. A course at this level is usually about six miles." Bobby continued on the walk up the hill, mostly in silence, as he let Dean take it all in. After a good ten minute walk they reached a far corner that seemed to be the edge of the park with a huge hole in the ground with jumps. "They call it The Hollow. The horses have to jump up hill with a huge drop at the other side down into the valley, over another jump, and then back up the hill with a jump that comes up real quick on them. It's one of the most challenging questions for a horse on this course. Causes a lot of problems for some riders."

Dean could sympathize. He felt like the fire had been the drop on the other side of that first jump. He hadn't seen it coming. "So this is what Cas does, huh?"

"Yup," Bobby nodded, taking in a deep breath of the crisp Kentucky air.

The Horse Park was beautiful in the early daylight. Part of him wondered what it was like for Castiel to gallop on his horse through these fields at a show. Western certainly didn't have anything like this. "Does he even know I'm coming?"

Bobby let out an amused huff. "Not a chance. I let Anna know, though. She's definitely the more reasonable out of the two. I've told her a lot about you, and she agrees that you are what he needs."

Dean didn't even know what to say to that. His green eyes looked down in the hollow again, his mind racing. "I don't even know if I want to work with horses anymore, Bobby. Too many memories."

Bobby placed a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder. "You love horses way too much to give them up, son. You are just reminded of it because it's too similar. I really think being at Lazarus is going to be enough of a distraction while still being around what you love. Plus…" Bobby looked down at the ground solemnly. "I need you to do this for me, Dean. It's selfish, I know, but after your Daddy died I should have taken care of you and I didn't. This is my way of trying to redeem myself."

"Bobby-," Dean tried to protest but Bobby cut him off.

"You and Sam are like sons to me. Always have been. I shouldn't have up and left, but I did, and I regret it. If I can make it right by getting you a job, let me."

Dean had never blamed Bobby once for anything. When he and Sam were still too young, it was Bobby who watched after them while John and Mary went off to show. He'd always been more of a father to them. Deep down there was a part of him that wanted to take Sam's advice and just stay back at Ellen's farm, but he knew he'd regret it. He couldn't live out the rest of his life like that. "What if I turn out to be a fuck up and they blame you for it?"

Bobby smiled, his eyes starting to water. "Son, you could never be a fuck up at anything involving horses. I don't care what discipline it is."

Dean cast another glance towards the stadium casting a shadow on the course. "Well…let's go meet Castiel."


	2. Thursday

Dean and Bobby made it to Virginia on Thursday. It was even colder there than Kansas had been lately, making Dean thankful that this _wasn't_ for Bobby's job. He'd still have to be outside as a groom, but he could spend most of his time within the safety of the barn that probably had central heating by the looks of it anyway. It was the middle of winter, so he wasn't sure what else he expected.

He swallowed hard as they pulled into the long driveway, the pictures not doing the place any justice. It was much more impressive seeing with his own eyes than photos on the web. "You really think they'll hire me?"

"I don't think Castiel will really like it, but he's not going to have much of a choice," Bobby shrugged casually without concern.

Dean looked at Bobby, appalled at what he was insinuating. "Really, Bobby, _really_?" Bobby had made him drive almost twenty hours out here to tell him he will be hired simply as a last resort. Great. It really inspired confidence in someone right before an interview.

"Castiel's last groom quit back in October, and he hasn't had any other applicants since then. He needs the help," Bobby spoke, no indication of worry or nervousness in his voice. It was clear he was confident Dean would land the job.

Dean pulled the Impala next to a truck outside the barn that looked more like a mansion and rubbed his palms nervously against his jeans after he placed the car into park. "Well. No turning back now."

"Try not to look like you're going to throw up," Bobby suggested as he and Dean both got out of the vehicle. Bobby led Dean to the first barn, sliding the door to the barn open and closing it behind him to keep the frigid air out.

The barn was absolutely pristine. The floor was made of beautiful brick and the ceiling looked like it belonged in a house rather than a barn. Not a single stall had a speck of dust or chipped paint. The wood was a crisp chestnut with blue trimming along the walls and stalls. Through one of the far door windows he could see that the barn connected to the huge indoor arena.

"Jesus," Dean whispered to himself in awe.

Bobby gave a questioning hum as he looked around. "Looks like Cas is out riding." He picked up a halter that was hanging off a cross tie in the aisle and peered into the arena, but didn't see anyone."Must be in the field. Let's go see if Anna is around the other barn. I'd rather you meet her first, anyway."

Dean let out a small breath of relief as they walked through the barn to the other side. Dean thought the door would lead back outside, but it instead lead to a massive lounge with a fireplace and full kitchen. "Holy shit, Bobby, how about I just rent a stall to sleep in? This place is incredible."

"It ain't too shabby," Bobby agreed, walking him through to the other end that apparently led to not a separate barn, but a separate wing. A large black Warmblood was tied up in the aisle way, and a woman with bright red hair in a bun was brushing the horse. "I hoped I'd find you here."

The woman turned, and Dean recognized her from the photos as Anna. She smiled and met Bobby half way for a hug. "Bobby! Glad to see you back. Did you enjoy your trip? Rufus has been complaining non-stop about having to do all the work."

Bobby laughed, "Of that I have no doubt. I had a great trip, thank you. Came back with some extra baggage, though," he nodded in Dean's direction.

Dean suddenly felt himself freeze under the woman's gaze, unable to move. Thankfully Anna stepped forward with an extended hand causing him to snap back to reality. "Um, Hi, I'm Dean."

"Anna," she smiled as she shook his hand. "Bobby has told me all about you. He has nothing bad to say about you."

Dean gave a nervous laugh, "All lies."

"Nonsense. I would say the 'devishly-handsome' description fit quite well," Anna responded in attempt to ease the tense man's nerves.

"If you're into that sort of thing," another woman with red hair spoke as she came out of a room with a saddle in her arms. Her hair was much shorter, cut below her chin in curls.

"Dean, this is Charlie. She's my groom," Anna nodded towards the other woman. "She's more into the Scarlett Johansson type, I'm afraid."

Dead raised an eyebrow in surprise, but then gave a nod of agreement. "Can't argue that one."

"Right!?" Charlie responded as she placed a white blanket on the horse's back with one hand and then fit the saddle on top.

Anna gave a small shake of her head as she turned her attention back towards Dean. "Bobby tells me you've been around horses all your life. You've won quite the few competitions in cutting and reining."

"A few, yeah," Dean nodded, rubbing his palms against his jeans again. If he felt this nervous around Anna who was being extremely nice to him, he couldn't even imagine how he'd be around Castiel.

"Well, what we do here is quite different, but I know I'd personally love to pick your brain about what you used to do," She spoke kindly. "My brother is not the easiest man to work with, but I'm sure Bobby has already warned you about that. He's strict with hisstudents, but kind - mostly. His grooms on the other hand," she gave a disapproving cluck of her tongue, "They have not fared as well. He needs someone who can simply do their job, and not an intern."

"I don't know a lot about English, but I know horses," Dean assured her. "There isn't anything in this world I care about more than horses - well, maybe my brother. You get my point."

Anna gave a polite nod, "Of course. You seem like a bright man. I'm sure you'd pick it up quickly. Castiel is out with Alfie, one of his students. I am headed to the outdoor Dressage arena across from it, so I can show you to him."

Dean nodded and gave the large horse a pat on the nose. "What kind is he?"

"Uriel is an Oldenburg," Anna responded. "Much larger than the quarter horses you're used to. He can be very stubborn sometimes. He's my most talented horse, but not my favorite." She ran a hand through his forelock, pulling the stuck strands behind the brow band out. "A horse can have all the skill in the world, but can just not care. I find those that have the heart to work for you will take you further."

Dean felt himself relaxing slowly beneath Anna's soothing voice. She was nothing like he thought she'd be. He thought all English riders were in it for the win and didn't care about the horses, but it was obvious Anna loved her mounts. It was a welcomed surprise. "We had a horse we simply called Colt. He was a feisty son-of-a-bitch and could cut a cow like nothing I've ever seen. But he had an attitude, and when he didn't want to work it was terrible. But my Baby would always put her heart into it, even if she didn't quite get the points Colt would on a good day."

"My brother is lucky," Anna said as she drew the reins over Uriel's head to begin walking him. "His horse Inias would do anything for him, and always does it well. That Thoroughbred has the heart and the talent. He used to be a race horse, but didn't perform well. They were going to send him to the slaughter, but Castiel offered the owners $500 cash at the track to take him off their hands right then and there."

"Jesus," Dean breathed, unfortunately not shocked that anyone could just throw away a horse's life like that. It was all too common. He followed into step next to Anna as she walked out of the barn and into the sun. Charlie was walking in front of them, a long whip sticking out of her back pocket. "Do you have students, too?"

"I do," Anna answered. "I have three full-training students: Hannah, Rachel, and Daniel. They have their own horses, take weekly lessons, and attend most of the shows with me. Hael is taking lessons on Joshua currently, but is looking for her own horse so that she can start showing with us at higher levels. I have many other students that just take lessons and do some schooling shows, but aren't ready to commit to their own horses yet."

"How many students does Cas have?" Dean asked as they began down a smaller road that would be a tight fit for any sort of vehicle.

"Hmm, I can't keep track of all the ones that just come for lessons, but Alfie, Gadreel, Tessa, and Muriel are all in full-training. Alfie is Castiel's favorite. He has a soft spot for the kid, although I don't think he'd ever admit. He has a lot of talent. His horse, Gabriel, is a little bit of a nut, but he takes care of Alfie." Anna had a fond expression on face that beamed in the winter sun's light.

They cleared the path of tall brush on either side and Dean has a clear view of the jumping arena. There was a rider trotting around the ring on a chestnut horse. That must have been Alfie and Gabriel. Standing in the middle of the arena with his arms crossed was Castiel.

"Don't rush him to the jump," Castiel spoke sternly, his voice way deeper than Dean thought it would be. "Get out of his face and let him work through the combination. Do it again."

Alfie moved Gabriel back into a canter and went once around the ring before lining up for three jumps in a row. Gabriel made it through the first jump but tossed his head towards the second and clipped the top rail of the second with his hind end, and again with the third.

"Good, that's fine," Castiel praised as he began walking to fix the jumps. "You were quiet. If he wants to be stupid, let him realize it's going to hurt." Castiel placed the poles back in the cups and stepped away. "Again. Stay just as you were before."

Alfie took another lap and then went through the line, this time Gabriel picking his hind-end up higher than needed to avoid the rails. Dean could tell the horse was intelligent, but he definitely looked like he might have a Napoleon complex. He looked small for an Eventing horse - not that Dean really knew anything about that. Alfie's long limbs made him look a little awkward on his mount, but the boy was graceful on his back, not letting his gangly body get in the way.

"Very good. We should end on that," Castiel said as Alfrie transitioned Gabriel down to a walk and gave him a pat on the neck. Castiel took a step forward out of the ring and paused as if he just noticed the by standards looking on. "Bobby, you're back," he stated plainly, his blue eyes locked on to Dean with a silent question.

"Well, what can I say? I missed your charm," Bobby responded sarcastically. Castiel gave a small huff, knowing the man's true intent behind the statement. "Cas, this is Dean Winchester. I used to work for his father out in Kansas. They showed cutting and reining horses."

Dean swallowed and extended a hand with a smile, "Bobby speaks very highly of you."

Castiel took his hand, but did not return his smile. "Nothing good, I'm sure." Dean thought he might be trying to be funny, but his dead-panned face never broke.

Bobby didn't seem too phased by the response, so Dean figured it was a typical one. "There was an unfortunate accident last year, and he lost the farm in a fire. He's looking for some work, and thought maybe he could help you out for a while."

Castiel's eyes narrowed harshly at Dean. "You know nothing about Eventing." It was definitely not a question.

Dean felt himself flinch back slightly as he sucked in a breath. "Well, ah, no, but I'm a real quick study and I know horses."

"I don't have time to teach you," Castiel said plainly as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and began walking off.

Anna rolled her eyes and handed Uriel's reins to Charlie to follow after her brother. "Castiel, don't be like that. He can shadow Charlie for a few weeks. You keep complaining that you don't have any help, but you won't take it when it's offered."

"So much for that," Dean mumbled, disappointed, as he stayed behind with Bobby.

"Hold your horses, boy, let Anna talk him down," Bobby ordered.

Castiel and Anna's voices faded to where Dean could no longer hear them. Bobby's words didn't give him any confidence. "I don't know how much I want to work for someone who doesn't want me."

"He's like that with everyone at first," Alfie spoke as he stopped Gabriel next to him a few feet away from the two men. "He told me I shouldn't even be riding the first month I took lessons. Now he thinks I can show three-star in two years. He took off his helmet and tucked it under his free arm, giving Gabriel's reins a yank to keep him from eating grass with his bit still in. "He does really need the help. He hasn't been able to ride as many horses lately because he has to groom and tack them all himself. It doesn't help he has sort of been putting his students ahead of himself lately. It's the off season until March, so now would be the best time to have to train someone. I could help you on the days that I just come out to ride."

Dean was surprised that some kid he didn't even know was so eager to offer up his free time and help. "And why would you do that?"

"Cas is a tough instructor, but he cares. He needs someone who can help him out so he can get back to his own riding," Alfie explained simply.

"I, for one, am tired of having to do double-duty on some days," Charlie huffed. "I swear Cas would be a lot less irritable if he could actually spend more time riding again."

"Are you guys really that desperate for someone?" Dean asked.

"Yes!" Both Charlie and Alfie responded in unison.

"Told you," Bobby huffed.

Dean rubbed at the back of his neck, his muscles tense from the last two days of driving. "Look, as much as everyone apparently wants me here, Cas doesn't."

"Probably not," Charlie agreed as she began stroking Uriel's face, "But he pretty much does everything Anna says."

"Anna's coming back," Bobby nodded towards the walkway. "That ain't her pissed-off walk, so I bet she got her way."

"Castiel would love to have you," Anna smiled innocently as she took the reins back from Charlie. "Why don't you join me and Charlie for my ride? She can give you some insight to what I'm doing and you can help her take care of Uriel afterwards.

Dean looked to Bobby uncertainty, but he just shrugged. "You sure Castiel is ok with this?"

"If you can put up with Castiel longer than a month, Dean, I promise the fact that you know nothing about Eventing won't even matter," Anna assured him, ignoring his question.

Dean frowned at her behind her back, irritated that that was the response he was getting from everyone. He had no idea what he was even going to get paid for this, but...What the hell. He had nothing to lose. "Fine. Let's do this, I guess."

Bobby smiled deviously and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go get to work on my end. I live above Castiel's wing. The door to the stairs is through the tack room. Make yourself at home."

Charlie smiled at Dean and gave him a bump with her hip. "Well, buddy, you ready for Dressage 101?"

/*/

Dean liked Charlie. She was sweet, funny, and really smart. Apparently she had gotten in trouble when she was still a minor with some cyber hacking and had to do community service. She ended up doing work with a local horse rescue, and had been hooked ever since. She didn't want to ride, but being Anna's groom was the perfect compromise.

"I've been Anna's groom forever," Charlie said she led Dean from Anna's side of the barn through the lounge to Castiel's side. "She used to do Eventing, so I pretty much know all there is to know. I'll show you where all the tack is and maybe we can start going through some of it tonight. Cas is going to expect you to know what goes with what horse without him telling you." Charlie opened the door to the tack room and flipped on the switch. "Soooo. Since there are three different events, you're going to pretty much have three of everything."

"Great," Dean groaned, looking at all the tack that was on the walls. It was all completely foreign to him.

"The lockers are for the students, so don't mess with any of that. Cas uses his own tack even if he rides one of the boarders," Charlie explained as she pulled out a saddle from the wall rack and set it down on a stand in front of her. "Ok. Dressage saddle. Easy to identify since they are almost always black. Long flaps to allow for a long stirrup, long billets to keep the girth out of the way of the rider's leg, and deep seat to help sit those crazy trots. Any questions?"

"They're black, got it," Dean responded, even though he really did understand what she was saying. It had helped someone that he had been able to watch Anna ride earlier.

Charlie rolled her eyes in amusement and switched out the saddle for a chestnut colored one. "A lot of riders use a cross-country saddle for both cross-country and stadium jumping at the lower levels. Saves costs. But, there is a difference and Castiel has to have separate ones for each event. This is a cross-country saddle. The flap is really far forward to allow for a short stirrup and help keep the gallop position. These," she tapped two raised portions on the flap of the saddle, "Help keep the leg in place. The back is also a little higher and longer for big drops off banks." She switched it out for another saddle. "This is a jump saddle. Pretty similar. Still has a forward flap, it can have the blocks to keep the leg in place, but the seat is pretty flat."

"Ok," Dean gave a small shrug. "Doesn't seem too hard. Dressage is black, cross-country looks like it has way too much going on, and jumping is flat."

Charlie smiled, "And you thought this was hard. Bridles and bits might be a little more challenging though, now that I think about it. I can show you the horses, instead?"

Dean breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Horses I can do."

"Right," Charlie nodded with her finger pointed up. "I probably should have started with that, honestly. I need to make a check-list or something." She flipped the light off to the tack-room as they moved back into the main barn. "Right, this is Inias," she approached the stall of a very tall bay horse with a white star and stripe. "You take 1000% care of this one or Castiel will personally murder you, and it won't be pretty."

Dean reached out and gave the horse a pet on the nose, letting him breath into his hand to get to know him. "He's Cas's favorite, Anna told me how he rescued him."

"I'm pretty sure Cas loves this horse more than he loves Anna," Charlie nodded. "Inias is awesome." She moved across the aisle to the next stall. "You've already met Gabriel. He can be a little shit, but he's got a good heart."

"Isn't he a bit small for an Eventing horse?" Dean asked as he looked in at the horse happily munching away at his hay.

"Yeah, but don't tell him that. He isn't as fancy of a Dressage horse as some of the Thoroughbreds and sport horses, but he's an insanely brave jumper." Charlie moved on to the next stall. "This is Ezekiel, Gadreel's horse." He was another tall horse, a liver chestnut with four white socks. "I'm pretty sure he was abused at some point, because he almost always seems like he is waiting for you to hit him. He really wants to do well, but we've got some confidence issues to work through for sure."

Dean looked sadly on at the gelding. He'd seen it too many times before. The biggest thing he hated about the Western world was the old idea of breaking a horse till it completely submitted to you. It was an outdated method that somehow still lingered all too well. He made a note to see if he could maybe help Gadreel gain the gelding's trust.

"Abbadon is the only mare in Castiel's barn. We actually only have two mares here, period. Totally sexist if you ask me," Charlie mumbled as she pointed to a black horse with a white star. "She's Tessa's horse. She's a royal bitch on the ground, but she suddenly becomes the most well-behaved horse when you get on her. Even still, she seems like a complete angel compared to _that_ one," Charlie pointed at the stall across the way.

Dean looked in to see an incredibly gorgeous grey gelding. "What's wrong with him?"

"That's Lucifer. The most fitting name for a horse I've ever seen. I just like to call him Satan," Charlie huffed. "He's is absolutely the most incredible looking horse I've ever seen Castiel ride, but he is the absolute _worst_. Bobby and Rufus are always fixing his stall because he breaks the boards during feeding and turnout. He starts shit with the other horses in the field all the time, so we had to build a separate turnout. And catching him outside of feeding? Good fucking luck."

Dean didn't put up with that kind of bullshit. If it wasn't something he was able to fix in a few months, he got rid of them. "Why keep him around?"

"Look at him! He's gorgeous. Castiel still thinks he can fix him," Charlie explained. "I think that horse is well beyond saving, but whatever. He's your problem now." She moved on. "That's Esper, Muriel's horse. He's not very smart, honestly, but Muriel loves the hell out of him." Charlie moved from the bay to the last occupied stall. The horse was a very unusual dun color. "This is Balthazar. I have never seen a horse so full of himself. Like, seriously, if he could puff out his chest he would. He totally knows when he's in front of a judge at a show."

Dean gave an amused smirk at the horse. "Not a bad thing."

"No," Charlie agreed, "but it is funny to watch." She leaned against the stall door and watched as Balthazar dug a hole in the middle of his hay pile, seemingly deciding that whatever was at the bottom tasted better. "Please don't give up on him too soon."

Dean was confused, thinking she was talking about the horse for a minute until he realized she had been talking about Castiel. "This is the weirdest fucking job I've ever had. Everyone has been so desperate to get me hired to work for someone who doesn't even want me and can't seem to keep anyone around. I don't know, he was kind of a douche but I've seen worse."

"He's just super demanding," Charlie explained, "and he's really bad with emotions. Alfie is like the only person I've ever seen him actually praise. You just have to realize that you probably won't get a thank you, but it doesn't mean he's not appreciative."

His dad never said thank you, either. "I think I can handle it."

Charlie smiled. "Good. Plus, I kind of like you. You seem like the kind of guy I could totally watch Game of Thrones with."

Dean gave a laugh, "Just tell me when and where and I'll be there with a six pack and pizza."

"Done!" Charlie smiled back. "I don't live too far from the farm, about twenty minutes in the next town over where there's actual civilization. We can do something this weekend, for sure, but I'm gonna call it a night for today."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, sure. Thanks for today. I'm gonna need all the help I can get."

"No problem," Charlie said as she stuck her hands in her pockets. "Castiel usually gets to the barn around eight every morning. I'd see if he wants you to do anything for him. Whenever you are free you can come over and help me out."

Dean hoped Castiel turned him away in the morning until he could figure more things out, but he figured he'd have to actually do his job eventually. "Yeah, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Charlie waved and left the barn. Dean found the staircase to the apartment above the barn and climbed the narrow stairway. There was a delicious aroma coming from behind the door. When Dean opened it, his stomach growled at the sight of Bobby cooking. As expected, the living quarters were just as lush as the lounge in the barn.

"How were things with Charlie?" Bobby asked as he opened the fridge and pulled out a beer for Dean.

Dean took it thankfully. "Ok. I'll figure it out. Eventually."

Bobby let out an amused huff. "I set up the couch for ya. We can go get a blow-up tomorrow."

"Couch is fine," Dean waved him off as he took a swig of his beer.

"Suit yourself," Bobby shrugged. He put the hamburger patties he had been cooking onto a separate plate. "I'm glad you came, Dean."

Dean swallowed hard, thinking back to Bobby's words of guilt when he had arrived in Kansas. He wasn't really sure if he was glad to be here, yet, but there was one thing he knew for sure. "It's good to see you again, Bobby. It really is."

It was enough for him, the man giving a nod of satisfaction. "Well. Eat up and get a good night's sleep. You've got a lot to learn before show season."


	3. Day One

"Get up, sleepy-head!"

Dean woke with a start, and drew up the covers instinctively when his eyes opened to see Charlie hovering over him. "Who the hell let you in here?!"

"Bobby," Charlie grinned. "Castiel may not get to the barn until eight, but I've been having to pull double duty on barn manager tasks. I need help, too. I didn't mention it yesterday because I just wanted you to stay and thought that might chase you off."

Dean wiped a hand down his tired face, his hair sticking up in all directions. "Well, I didn't exactly think the job only consisted of following Cas around like a lost puppy."

Charlie let out a sigh of relief that Dean wasn't angry. "I'm up until like ten most nights because I have to manage both Cas and Anna's schedules. It's driving me crazy. Grab some coffee Bobby left for you and we'll start by checking over all the horses."

Dean pulled on his jeans and jacket, smoothing out his hair and grabbed a mug of coffee before following Charlie down the stairs. The light to the feed room was on and he could hear food being scooped, causing the horses to start nickering in anticipation.

"Sometimes Bobby and Rufus feed, other times we have the students come in and do It. Cas and Anna take off some of their board and lesson fees if they help out with barn chores. It helps Bobby and Rufus be able to focus on barn maintenance that way. So, part of my job is creating the feeding schedule and updating feeding instructions as needed." Charlie stopped in front of Inias's stall. "I'm assuming you can handle checking over the horses without me standing by to watch?" Dean's face was enough of an answer. "Right. Ok. Good. I'm going to go do the same thing with Anna's horses. Everyone has been healthy lately, so fingers crossed. When you're done, meet me in the lounge and I'll go over some of the other stuff before Cas comes down."

Most of the horses stood nicely for Dean, understanding the routine. Gabriel kept trying to knock him over when he was bent down around his feet, and Balthazar kept grabbing at his jacket with his teeth. Those were irritating vices, but Lucifer really took the cake. He put his entire weight on Dean when he picked up his feet, and then kept trying to kick out whenever Dean was within firing range. Dean barely dodged out of the full-blown buck that ended up hitting the wall and causing a shoe to go flying. That pissed Dean off. Grabbing the horse's ear roughly, a sensitive pressure point, he pulled his head down and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't think for a second I'm not afraid to kick you back, you understand me? You don't act like that. Ever. I don't care how pretty Cas thinks you are." He released Lucifer's ear and they instantly went flat against the horse's head.

Dean stood back cautiously, waiting to see if Lucifer would try anything else, but he just stood there completely still with his ears back and his eyes locked onto the man, his tail giving a powerful flick in irritation. Confident the horse wouldn't try anything else, Dean walked behind and grabbed the shoe from the shavings. Great. He was sure the farrier was gonna love that. Dean didn't dare pick up the gelding's foot again, but took a look at it and didn't see any big chunks missing. At least it looked like a clean pull. "Stupid son-of-a-bitch," he mumbled angrily as walked out of the stall.

He returned to Charlie with an unhappy expression, dropping the horseshoe at her desk. "Lucifer."

Charlie's face fell quickly into a frown. "Please tell me you are joking?"

"Nope," Dean said, his hands on his hips. "He did that when he was trying to pound my face into the side of the stall. Lovely animal."

"Ugh, sorry," Charlie apologized. "I guess I'll call Ash then. I think our farrier has been kicked in the head too many times. He thinks dealing with Lucifer is fun."

"You have to be a little crazy to be a farrier," Dean said, not surprised to hear the comment from her. "Do you guys not sedate him for it?"

"Oh, no, we totally do," Charlie corrected him, "But I swear Lucifer is almost immune to it. It takes off the edge, but he's still with it enough to cause damage. One time, he kicked Ash so hard in the chest it left an imprint of the shoe for weeks. Ash thought it was cool and kept lifting his shirt to show everyone." She sighed and wrote a reminder to herself to call Ash on a notepad. "Everyone else look ok?"

"Yeah. Gabriel had a few spots on his back where someone has been nibbling. Didn't break the skin," Dean said.

"Oh yeah, he and Balthazar do that to each other all the time," She nodded while typing in some notes on her computer, "Drives Cas crazy before shows, but they get really upset when we try and separate them. So. I'll continue to manage the feeding schedules, but just so you know I post the schedule every Friday up there on the events board," she pointed to a cork board on one of the walls. "I also coordinate sign up lists for upcoming shows and schoolings for all the students up there for Cas and Anna. I typically place orders for any feed and supplies on Mondays, but of course if there's anything we need in between I'll do that too. I've found that if you let me know when we hit the last 2 bags of feed, that tends to work out well. We can get shippments really quick. Supplements come automatically from SmartPak, so don't need to worry about that. I like to keep the hay barn about half-full, especially during the winter."

Thankfully, this was all familiar territory for Dean. He knew he had done a good job running things while his Dad trained horses. They never ran out of feed, hay, or shavings, and he had always been sure to catch any injuries or illness early on. "I can handle all of that."

"Sweet," Charlie grinned. "I'll come grab you after Castiel is done with you to go over his nuances on how the barn looks. If blankets aren't folded just right, he flips."

Oh, good. He was one of those. "Alright. Well, I've got just enough time to grab some grub before he gets down here. I'll see you later."

"Yup," Charlie acknowledged as she turned her attention back to her work.

Dean finished up his coffee and poured a bowl of cereal, scarfing it down quickly. After washing the dishes he used the bathroom and then headed down the stairs. He wasn't expecting to see Castiel in the tack room as he opened the door at the bottom, pausing in his actions. Castiel was writing something on a large whiteboard on the far wall. Slowly, Dean closed the door behind him, "Uh, good morning."

Castiel did not return the greeting. "I'm writing a to-do list for you," He said plainly with his back still turned to Dean. "I am assuming you can do basic tasks such as cleaning tack?"

Dean's eyes narrowed, irritated that Castiel was accusing him of being inept of such a basic task. "Yeah, sure, no problem," he answered dryly. "What needs to be done?"

"All of it," Castiel responded as he closed the cap to his marker and turned around. "But I've written down a priority list. I have not had time to sit down and clean tack more than a wipe down, so it must be thorough. I'm sure you can handle that."

Dean's smile was as fake as Castiel's belief in him to clean everything to his standards. "Deep clean on tack. Got it."

Castiel didn't seem too confident, but did not comment on it further. "I have lessons this morning. When I start the last one I will ask you to start grooming and saddling horses for me. They are in the order that I will ride," he gave a small tilt of his head back towards the board.

Dean felt like he should view the whiteboard list as Castiel's way to be helpful, but he couldn't help but think it was the rider's way of treating him like a child. "Ok, no problem." It would probably be somewhat of a problem, given the fact he still didn't know what tack went to what horse. Hopefully Charlie would be available at that time.

"Cleaning supplies are in the cabinets," Castiel said simply as he stepped out of the tack room into the barn.

"Well, hello to you too," Dean mumbled as he approached the whiteboard to read it in detail. Castiel's hand writing was extremely neat and crisp. On the right were the list of horses in order that he wanted to ride in the afternoon, with the tasks he'd being doing with them off to the side. To the left was the cleaning list: Saddles, bridles, bits, boots, saddle pads. Well, since the barn had washer and dryers specific for barn laundry, Dean figured he might as well throw a load in first while he did everything else. It was easy to spot - more like smell - the pile of dirty saddle pads in a basket in the corner.

Dean took the pads to the lounge and put in the first load, setting a timer on his phone to remind him to change it over. As he rounded the turn to enter the tack room again, he nearly knocked right into someone.

"Sorry about that," the man in question apologized. He was about Dean's age, tall and lean. His cheekbones and jaw were very defined. "Oh, you must be Dean. I'm Gadreel," he extended his hand.

Dean took his hand and shook it, surprised. For some reason he had expected all of Castiel's students to be younger like Alfie. "Yeah, that's me."

"Castiel said you come from a Western background," Gadreel spoke, looking for some sort of confirmation out of curiosity.

Dean gave a huff in disbelief, "That all he said?"

Gadreel smirked, "No. But not all of it bears repeating, I think. So it's true. I thought it was odd that Castiel would hire on someone without an Eventing background, but Alfie kept insisting."

"Alfie told you?" Dean questioned as he started searching the cabinets for leather cleaner. Ah, there it was.

"He's a good kid," Gadreel nodded as he placed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door frame, "We're like family here. We all talk and go out together."

"I somehow don't picture Cas as the 'going out' type," Dean stated as he filled a small container of water and set it next to the supplies.

"True," Gadreel agreed, "I can't remember the last time we were able to convince him to come out with us. Anna's husband, Richard, is a cook, so she tries to have events here at the barn so he is more or less obligated to attend." He stood up straight again, "Well, I better get Ezekiel ready before Castiel yells at me for wasting his time. If you need any help with anything when I get back, let me know."

"Thanks," Dean nodded as Gadreel walked off. Well, at least everyone else at the barn was nice. It did seem funny to Dean that everyone at the barn acknowledged Castiel was a prick, but continued to defend and hold him in such high regard anyway. With a slight shrug to himself he grabbed a saddle off the wall rack and placed it onto the stand next to the counter. He had always enjoyed cleaning the tack back at the farm. It was calming and a way to escape Dad when he was in one of his moods. Dean pulled his phone out and put on some music before grabbing the rag and starting on the first saddle.

Gadreel came in after his lesson and helped set aside the tack in bundles for the horses Castiel wanted to ride that afternoon. Dean was extremely grateful for it. He had decided it would be best to try and write down the information as he figured it out, so he grabbed a notebook from Bobby's kitchen and began describing the tack as best as he knew how with each horse. He got into a good rhythm between the laundry and saddles. It was easy busy work.

Another lesson came and went, a student who wasn't one of the ones Anna had mentioned to him. She hadn't said anything to Dean, but hadn't been rude about it, either. Bobby had stopped in to chat when he took breaks from cleaning stalls, but never had much time to sit and chat. The next girl that came took extreme interest in Dean. It was Muriel, one of Castiel's other full-time students. She was younger, like Alfie, with blonde curls and a sweet face. She sort of got on Dean's nerves.

"I think it's really cool you used to do Western," she beamed as she gathered her things from her locker. "I've always wanted to try it. I love the clothes they wear! They are so sparkly and interesting. We don't get to wear anything like that in Eventing. Do you think you could teach me? Maybe Castiel would let you have a Western horse here! Wouldn't that be -,"

"_Muriel_," Castiel's voice halted the conversation instantly as he entered the tack room. Dean let out a sigh of relief at the rescue. "Dean has work to do that does not benefit from your discussions. Esper does not benefit from them, either."

Muriel's cheeks and ears flushed red in embarrassment as she scurried out of the room with tack in hand. Dean relished the silence that fell on the room. "Thanks for bailing me out of that one," he said, trying to strike up some sort of conversation with Castiel. "She wouldn't shut up."

"Yes, I'm well aware she is easily distracted," Castiel agreed. "It shows in her riding. She's not very good. Her horse isn't either."

Dean raised an eyebrow at his bluntness. "Geez, do you tell her that?"

"Of course I do," he answered nonchalantly. "I would be doing my students a disservice by lying to them, don't you agree?"

Dean gave a grunt and threw his hands up peacefully, "Hey, man, whatever works for you. I would just think since she probably gives you a lot of money, that you might try being a little more tactful about it."

"On the contrary," Castiel fired back, "Telling her she is a terrible rider only causes her to try harder. Her horse, however," he gave a shake of his head in disappointment. "That one is another story."

Dean switched his rag, surprised Castiel was spending this much time talking to him. "Charlie told me he was kind of stupid."

"Very," Castiel confirmed. "He tries hard for Muriel, and they have a very close bond, but he is not very smart. I don't trust him past Training level to be able to navigate a cross-country course safely."

"Could you tell that before she bought him?" Dean asked as he pulled the stirrup leather from the saddle to clean.

"Of course I could," Castiel nodded, "But she insisted that he as the one she wanted, anyway."

"Ah, well, you can lead a horse to water-," He stopped when Castiel gave him a confused look and sighed. "Nevermind."

"Muriel is my last lesson today," Castiel said, changing the subject. "Have Balthazar ready for me when I return."

Dean took a look at his watch and noticed it was right at noon. "You aren't going to take a lunch break?"

"I don't have time," Castiel answered as he began to walk away.

Dean couldn't help but roll his eyes. What a work-a-holic. Well, he was going to eat. It wouldn't take him the full hour to get Balthazar groomed and tacked now that Gadreel had told him what to do, so he set down his supplies as he finished up the saddle and headed back up to the loft to raid Bobby's kitchen. He easily found basic sandwich supplies. It wasn't until he was already half-way through building his great creation that he realized he was making two. With an internal groan he continued on with both. Just because Castiel was a dick didn't mean he had to be. Least he could do is make the guy a sandwich.

He scarfed his own lunch down and left the other on a plate in the tack room before getting to work on Balthazar. The gelding was easy to catch in the paddock, but he bit him twice while grooming, earning him two hard slaps to the nose. Despite this, Balthazar seemed to find the game far too fun to let the hits deter him. Dean started to catch him in the act, the horse flinching back the instant Dean saw what he was about to do. Dean pointed the hoof pick at his face, "Asshole." At least he didn't kick out at him when he was cleaning his feet like Lucifer had. He'd rather deal with the bites than fearing a crushed skull. Balthazar wasn't really trying to be malicious, but it was bad manners and eventually he _would_ grab a chunk of skin by accident.

Dean finally had Balthazar standing still by the time Muriel and Castiel returned to the barn. He followed Castiel into the tack room as the man grabbed his helmet from the hook on the wall. "The sandwich is for you, if you want it." Castiel paused in his motions and stared at him with wide and confused eyes. If Dean didn't know any better, he would have though no one had ever made the guy food before. "What, your mom not make you lunch when you were a kid?"

"No," Castiel answered. "She was too busy to be around her children. The nanny took care of us."

O-K. Dean felt kind of bad for asking after that response. "Ouch. Sorry. Well, I don't know if you like turkey, but it's there if you want it." He waited for some sort of thank you as Castiel fished around for a pair of gloves and stuck them in the back of his pants. It never came. "You know, a thank you would be nice. Even if you don't eat it."

Castiel flinched, as if he were not expecting to be called out on his lack of gratitude. Dean could see his hands tightening their grip on the helmet. "I-um." He looked away and towards the ground. "Thank you."

Uh-huh. So that's how Castiel was. Tough exterior, but when he was finally confronted that shell crumbled. Dean crossed his arms, pleased with himself at the discover. "Sure thing, boss." Dean swore he saw Castiel turning red as he grabbed the sandwich and quickly left the tack room to begin bridling Balthazar. With a smile he grabbed Gabriel's halter and started walking towards the end of the barn.

/*/

Since Lucifer had thrown his shoe and Ash couldn't make it out until tomorrow, Dean was finished drying off and turning Gabriel out by three. Charlie was still with Anna through another horse, so he continued working on the to-do list Castiel had given him that morning until she came and got him from the tack room.

"Well, how was day one?" Charlie asked as she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, offering up to him as well.

Dean waved it off. "Not so bad, honestly. I actually had a conversation with Cas. It wasn't super friendly or anything, but at least he didn't totally blow me off."

"Well, that in itself is shocking," Charlie smiled. "They are about to feed right now, but I'll show you how Cas likes the barn, like I promised." Charlie showed him how he liked the blankets folded, the halters hung on the stalls - really, that mattered? - the specific way he liked his grooming tools in the cart in the aisle and wash rack, and everything he expected to be spotless before they turned down for the night.

John Winchester had been pretty anal about a lot of things at the barn, but not nearly to the level Castiel was. Granted, their barn also probably wasn't worth half of what this one was. By the time they had checked the horses over again after coming in from the field and ensured the blankets had been put on properly by the students, it was closing in on eight o'clock. It was something he was unfortunately used to.

They finally turned off the lights and Charlie waved goodbye, Dean trucking lazily up the stairs to the loft. Bobby already had a plate of leftovers from the dinner he made waiting. "Bobby, you are a god."

"Well, now, I wouldn't quite go that far," Bobby warned from the couch, watching some program on TV. "How was day one with Cas?"

"Well, it wasn't Cas who tried to kill me more than once today," Dean sighed as he took a seat next to him with his plate in his lap. "Charlie wasn't kidding about Lucifer."

Bobby grunted in agreement, "He's a handful. I think he'd mind himself better if Cas paid him a little more attention. He's the kind of horse that really needs a job, or else he just gets more pissed off."

"Yeah, well, seems like Daddy likes his other sons more," Dean spoke as he popped the cap off the beer bottle with his ring.

Bobby nodded, "Could be a good project for you, though. If you can get Lucifer to trust you and calm down a bit, you'd be in good graces with Cas for life."

Dean wasn't sure he even wanted to try and gain the horse's trust, but it would definitely present a good challenge. "Maybe I'll try join-up one day and see how that goes."

"That'll be a show if I ever saw one," Bobby mumbled as he took a swig of his own beer. "Make sure I'm there when that happens."

"Yeah, well, we could all used a little excitement in our lives," Dean spoke before shoving a large bite of food into his mouth. They stayed up another hour watching TV before both turning in for the night, Dean sleeping more peacefully than he had in a long time.


	4. So You Want to Dance With the Devil?

Dean cringed as he watched Lucifer land another kick to Ash's chest, knocking the farrier back down. Dean was about the only thing holding Lucifer's sedated body up, the gelding's nose practically touching the floor. It was a real wonder that he was still lucid enough to lash out. They weren't very powerful kicks, but they were enough to catch Ash off guard each time. "Is he really like this all the time ?"

"Sure is," Ash said as he picked himself back up and flipped his long hair over his shoulder. "He really keeps me on my toes. Or off them, if you know what I mean!" Ash picked up the hind leg again, placing the hoof between his legs as he continued the trim. "So many of the horses I work on just stand so perfectly. Get's pretty boring day in and day out!" He set the hoof down and gave the gelding a pat. "Lucifer is the spice in my boring life."

"A guy usually just finds a woman for that," Dean tried suggesting as he watched Ash rummage through his supplies for a new shoe.

Ash gave another flick of his mullet with a wink, "The ladies can't handle this."

"I don't think they want to," Charlie muttered as she approached Dean with crossed arms and looked at him. "I told you he was crazy."

"Crazy in love with the Devil!" Ash grinned as he began hammering away to shape the shoe on the anvil.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You see what I have to put up with day in and day out? Between him and Cas, it's a wonder I'm not crazy. Anyways, I have a shipment of hay and feed coming in today. They said they would be after noon . Can you help Bobby and Rufus unload everything? Those two aren't as young as they used to be and Rufus loves to complain about his back when a shipment comes in."

Dean gave a snort in understanding. He'd only spoken with Rufus once, but he could believe Charlie's words based on the one conversation. Rufus was loud and a little obnoxious, but he seemed like a hard worker and he and Bobby got along famously. "Yeah, sure, no problem."

Ash finally finished tacking on a new shoe for Lucifer, Dean hanging out with the gelding until more of the sedative wore off. He used the time to study Lucifer and try and figure out what exactly it was that made him tick. Clearly he didn't like anyone in his space. Dean already had some ideas on how to handle that particular vice . His initial impression of the horse was that he was aggressive, dangerous , and should be put down, but he was thinking a little differently the longer he stood there. Lucifer had backed down in his own way when Dean retaliated in the stall. He would never be a horse that would accept Castiel as dominant , b ut that didn't mean they couldn't develop a mutual respect for each other. Dean made a mental note to ask Castiel if he could work with Lucifer as he put the slowly waking horse back in his stall , confident now that he wouldn't fall over on his own.

Once done, Dean walked with Castiel down to the jumping arena per the rider's request to assist with setting up the jumping course. Alfie had finished riding Gabriel and walked with Dean to help him. It was a good thing the kid had been there so Dean didn't question what an 'oxer' or a 'bounce' was and look like more of an idiot to Castiel than he already did. Alfie simply instructed Dean where to place the standards and poles, and then explained it to him as they stepped aside to watch Castiel ride. Dean may not have known much about English riding, but he knew a good rider when he saw one. Castiel was quiet on Inias's back with soft hands , firm legs, and a solid seat . The two definitely had a bond with the way they communicated so easily, Inias's inside ear flicked back slightly at attention.

"I really think he could win the Rolex this year," Alfie said as he rubbed his hands together to try and keep them warm. It was supposed to snow over night . "He finished in the top fifteen last year, but they are so much better now."

"The Rolex, that's the one in Kentucky, right?" Dean questioned as he thought back to the stop he and Bobby had made.

Alfie nodded. "Yes. I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to do a four-star. Sometimes I think one and two is enough. I know Gabriel would love the cross-country course out there, but that's definitely a few years out yet before I even think about competing at that level."

"Cas thinks you can do it, doesn't he?" Dean asked as he watched Castiel take Inias over the jumps with room to spare.

Alfie gave Meg, the black barn cat, a stroke as she walked her way across the railing of the arena. "He does." Meg rubbed herself up against his jacket, begging to be let into the warmth. Alfie unzipped his jacket and the cat instantly curled up against his chest as he closed it around her. "I wish Castiel believed in himself the same way he believes in us."

Castiel didn't strike Dean as a guy who had self-image and confidence issues. It prompted the question, "Where are Cas and Anna's parents in all of this? Cas mentioned something the other day about his mom never being around."

"Naomi Novak, yeah she's something," Alfie nodded. " Their dad, Charles, died when they were pretty young. Changed Naomi a lot. They already had a lot of money, and after Chuck's death , they had even more of It. She bur ied herself in her law firm and figured if she let Anna and Castiel just do whatever with a Nanny it would be ok. I don't think she ever went to a single horse show. I met her once when she came out here. She was fairly disapproving in the fact this was how her children had decided to spend their lives and 'hard earned' money . She wasn't very nice to the students, either, and we are the ones who pay the bills. "

Dean understood parental issues. Bobby couldn't go a day without bringing up his Daddy issues in some way or another. "Does Anna have the same sort of problems?"

"Anna? Definitely not," Alfie shook his head. "Anna's husband is so supportive, and he really tries to take part in whatever he can. She has someone who supports her and fills that void. Castiel doesn't. I'm not sure if the way he acts is a defense mechanism because he doesn't have that someone, or if he doesn't have that someone because of the way he acts. Hard to tell with him. Hannah, one of Anna's students, has had a total crush on Castiel as far as I can remember. We all did everything to try and get them to go out together, but Castiel was just totally un-interested."

"Did he realize what you guys were trying to do?" Dean asked before walking off and raising the last jump of the combination up a hole per Castiel's shouts.

"Oh yes," Alfie replied when Dean returned to the rail. "He said it was irresponsible of us to try and get him to date a student and that we should focus more on riding instead of match making."

"Does he ever have fun? You know, let loose? Do something that doesn't involve horses?"

Alfie gave an amused crooked smile, "Castiel? No, never. I don't think he knows how."

"So what?" Dean began as he crossed his arms. "He rides the horses, then goes to his house and sits around staring at walls or something?"

Alfie let out a heart-filled laugh. "I could picture it, actually! I don't really know what he does outside the barn. I know he likes to read, but I've never really asked. You seem really interested in Castiel."

"Please change the direction of the outside line and raise it two holes," Castiel instructed as he trotted by them.

Alfie gave a nod of his head for Dean to follow him to the far set of jumps. "I've never seen any of his previous grooms interested in anything beyond how he can help them win blue ribbons on their own horse ." He picked up the ground rail to the jump and flipped it to the other side.

Dean followed his motion with the second jump, being mindful of Castiel's location before responding. "Well, that's probably why Cas drove them off. Reading the instructions usually helps you figure out how things work."

"If only Castiel came with an instruction manual," Alfie mused as they once again stepped out of the arena, Meg eagerly asking to be cradled back against Alfie's chest.

"Well, maybe I'll write one," Dean pondered as he watched Castiel move Inias back into a canter to go over the jumps. Castiel and Inias both remained in perfect form over all ten of the jumps, earning the horse a huge pat on the neck as Castiel began to cool him down.

"Talk with Anna," Alfie suggested. "If anyone knows Castiel, it's her."

"Are the two of you going to sit there and chit-chat, or are you going to do your job, Dean?" Castiel asked with a sour expression. At some point he had dismounted and was waiting for Dean to come take Inias off his hands.

Alfie muttered a silent apology, but Dean just shrugged as he took the reins from Castiel. "Did you want to ride anyone else when I get done with cooling him out?"

Castiel removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm. "No. The snow will be coming in soon. I want to give you time to help with the hay load and to make sure all the horses are in and blanketed properly before it gets too bad."

Dean nodded. He could sense the change in the air. There was a crispness to it that just smelled and tasted like a snow storm. "Yeah, ok."

"Lucifer is going to be a nightmare if this keeps them in for more than a day," Castiel warned as he began to walk back towards the barn.

Speaking of. "Hey," Dean called as he urged Inias to follow next to him. "About Lucifer. I was wondering if during my personal time I could work on his ground manners. I've had to deal with horses like him before, and I think I have some ideas on how to fix it. It may not work, but I think it's worth a try."

Castiel turned, his blue eyes narrowed in curiosity. "You want to work with Lucifer?"

"Well, I certainly don't want to live in fear that every time I enter his stall he's going to splatter my brains against the wall," Dean scoffed. "And don't you want to be able to actually ride him?"

The man gave a small tilt of his head, "Well, yes. You think he can be fixed?"

"Eh," Dean gave a small shrug of his shoulders, "Fixed probably isn't the word I'd use. Contain, might be better."

"If you can 'contain' Lucifer," Castiel gestured the quote for emphasis, "Then I'll give you a raise."

Dean gave a sly grin, "Well, then I definitely can't turn down the challenge."

"Try not to get killed while trying," Castiel huffed as he turned on his heel and continued to walk away.

"He has no faith in me," Dean smiled in amusement.

"Not even a little," Alfie agreed apologetically . "I've never seen him make any sort of promise like that. No way he thinks you'll succeed. Are you going to try and work with him tonight before the snow? "

"I don't need to be outside to work on ground issues," Dean explained. "Baby steps. This isn't going to happen overnight. I just want to concentrate on being able to enter his stall and lead him safely at this point." Dean's head perked up at the sound of a loud motor. "Ah, crap, hay is here. I need to hurry up with Inias ."

"I can take him, if you want," Alfie offered, sticking out his hand for the reins. "I want to see you work with Lucifer, anyways, so I can help with closing up the barn tonight."

"You sure you know how to do it all the 'Cas' way?" Dean asked teasingly.

"Better than you do," Alfie smiled as he snatched the reins from Dean's hands.

"Thanks, kid," Dean waved as he quickened his pace back up to the barn to grab his work gloves. He met Rufus and Bobby at the hay barn as he shoved his hands into the pieces of leather. "That's a lot of hay."

"Yeah, well, they are predicting that this storm is going to be worse than they originally thought. Could be stuck here a while," Rufus said as he hopped up onto the back of the truck and began throwing down bales.

"Oh, goodie," Dean groaned as he picked up the first bale and walked it into the small barn to begin stacking with Bobby joining in. "Do we have enough food?"

"Wouldn't hurt to make another run real quick," Bobby suggested. "Storm isn't supposed to until around five. We can start feeding a little early as soon as we are done here and then I can run into town. Any requests?"

Dean stacked a bale and gave Bobby a serious eye. "Pie."

Bobby gave a snort and a roll of his eyes , "Wouldn't forget it for nuthin'."

Between the three of them it only took about thirty minutes to get all the hay and feed unloaded. Small flakes started to fall slowly as they brought in all the horses and began to feed. Dean, Alfie, and Charlie all helped Rufus and Bobby get the horses fed and settled for the night. Bobby and Rufus left in the truck to town and Charlie was not far behind to hurry home.

"You sure you want to stick around? You might get stuck here," Dean spoke to Alfie as poured himself a glass of water and guzzled it down quick before wiping at his mouth and throwing the cup in the trash.

"I've got four-wheel drive, and it hasn't really started coming down yet. We'll keep an eye on it," Alfie shrugged, not very worried about the weather.

Dean wiped his hands on a towel and headed back into the barn. "Alright, let's do this. Probably good I have someone hanging around in case I need you to call 9-1-1." Dean grabbed the halter off of Lucifer's stall and slid the door open. Lucifer's head instantly raised him from the hay he had been eating, and his ears flattened. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Dean grumbled, unamused by the gelding's reaction. He ensured that he didn't challenge Lucifer by looking him straight in the eye, but his chest was out and that he evoked confidence. As he reached up with the halter Lucifer lashed out to bite, but Dean was prepared and popped him quickly in the nose. Lucifer threw his nose up in the air in agitation in response, keeping it up high so that Dean couldn't put the halter on. "Ok, douchebag," Dean reached up and reached for the place between his ears and pressed down hard on Lucifer's poll, causing the horse to instantly lower his head.

"Oh, dirty," Alfie mused from outside the stall.

"Well, he doesn't exactly place nice, either, " Dean responded as he quickly haltered Lucifer and kept a firm hand just under the buckle of the lead rope to ensure he had control over the horse's head. As soon as Dean made for the stall door Lucifer rushed him. Expectantly Dean pulled down hard on the rope to stop the horse and then started to wiggle the rope briskly in Lucifer's face, the horse instantly backing into the corner. "Jesus, your name is well earned!"

"He's usually bad," Alfie agreed, "But I've never seen him be quite like this."

"It's because he's testing me," Dean mentioned, acknowledging exactly what Lucifer was trying to do. "Everyone around here is too afraid to correct his behavior, so he doesn't feel the need to be as much of a dick around them." Dean waited until Lucifer's ears lifted up. They were not forward, but at least they weren't flat. "You going to do this right, this time?" Dean gave a small tug on the rope and Lucifer took a step forward , calmly following Dean out of the stall. "That's better." Dean pulled a peppermint out of his pocket and offered it to Lucifer when he halted on Dean's command.

Lucifer sniffed it cautiously, very hesitant to take the treat from the human who wasn't playing the game the way he liked. After a few seconds of contemplation he wiggled his nose over Dean's hand to scoop it into his mouth and munched away, his ears pricking forward for the first time.

Alfie's eyes lit up in surprise, " ate a treat without taking your hand along with it. I'm already impressed."

Dean gave a snort, "Yeah well, it may or may not stick. Come on, buddy," Dean began walking off again. Lucifer didn't charge, but he definitely tried to rush past Dean to take the lead. Once again, Dean gave one hard jerk of the lead rope and then began to wave it in his face until he started backing up again. Dean backed him all the way to the other end of the barn before allowing Lucifer to halt. Lucifer gave a loud snort and a sharp flick of his tail beneath the blankets.

"Yeah, me too, buddy," Dean scoffed as he waited for Lucifer to settle down. "Do you every work around him at all?"

There was a pause where Alfie didn't realize Dean was directing the question at him. "Oh, yes. I'll feed and turnout a few times during the week."

"Do you understand what I'm doing enough that you could do it with him?" Dean walked down the aisle , Lucifer keeping his distance this time. He was rewarded with another peppermint.

Alfie gave a nod, watching intently. "You are making him respect your space."

"He's not a dumb horse," Dean gave the gelding an approving pat on the neck. "He figures out what you want real quick, it's just a matter of making him more interested in playing your game than his. Can you do this with him, and maybe pass on the word to the other students?"

Lucifer's head snapped to attention when he heard the barn door open to see Bobby and Rufus coming in with several bags in tow. Dean gave the gelding another reassuring pat, but as soon as he removed his hand Lucifer began to paw at the ground with this right foot. Dean turned his stroking to a smack on the shoulder. "Hey, stop that!"

"How's working with Satan going?" Bobby asked as he paused next to Dean and the horse.

"I'm alive," Dean responded, giving Lucifer a hard look when he saw his hoof starting to creep back up.

Bobby gave a disbelieving snort. "It's starting to pick up out there. I'd head home if I were you," he directed the statement towards Alfie.

Alfie nodded and turned to Dean, "I'll make sure to let everyone know to follow your training instructions with Lucifer. I'll see you later." With a final wave he opened the door to the barn to leave.

Dean could see for the brief moment that the world was indeed turning white out there. Lucifer took the moment of distraction to began pawing again. Without even looking at the horse, Dean reached around and gave his nose a pop causing Bobby to give a laugh.

"It's going to be a long and interesting journey trying to get him to settle down," Bobby called back as he continued on to the tack room to head upstairs.

"Seven levels of Hell, and we are only in round one," Dean agreed, giving Lucifer another peppermint for going almost a full minute without pawing at the ground. Dean continued to repeat the process, walking him up and down the alley of the barn and stopping, Lucifer going longer and longer each time before getting impatient. Lucifer instead started nuzzling at Dean's pocket, knowing that's where the goodies were.

"I've never seen him lead so quietly before."

Dean came to an abrupt halt, Lucifer's head running into his back at the surprise. There, leaning against one of the stalls, was Castiel.

Dean sucked in a breath, trying to calm himself from the initial surprise. "Yeah, well, it only took three hours and about a hundred peppermints to get him here. I'm about out, so somehow I think he'll stop acting so nicely."

There was a small twitch of a smile from Castiel's lips. "I apologize. I'm not used to my grooms living on the grounds, and especially not accustom to seeing them work with the horses outside of their normal duties."

"Then you had pretty shitty grooms," Dean huffed. "But hey, it's your barn, man. You can be here whenever you want."

"Yes, true," Castiel agreed. A moment of silence fell over them, Castiel staring at the ground as if in thought.

Lucifer began pawing and Dean gave a heavy sigh. "Alright, alright, that's probably enough for today." He turned the horse around and lead him to the stall. Lucifer was quick to spin away from Dean as soon as he removed the halter, presenting him with a view of his rear-end. It was as good as being given the middle finger. "Back at ya," he muttered with a roll of his eyes. Dean slid the stall shut and placed the halter neatly on the hook.

"I owe you an apology," Castiel spoke, suddenly standing very close to Dean. "I had a preconceived notion about you that I now believe was somewhat wrong."

"Yeah, well," Dean shoved his hands in his back pockets, a little thrown off by the apology, "Can't say I didn't have the same of you when I heard you were an English rider."

"I'm quite sure," Castiel gave a small smile. "You are good with the horses. I will say, though, that your English knowledge could use quite a bit of improvement.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't just leave it at the compliment could you?"

Castiel frowned as if doing such a thing was unknown to him. "No, of course not. You are using the correct tack, but you often put it on incorrectly. Why would I not correct you?"

"That's not what I -," Dean just closed his eyes and let it go. Like Lucifer, taking baby steps was the key with this relationship. "Yeah, sorry. Alfie pointed some things out to me earlier, I made note of it."

Castiel gave an approving tilt of his head. "Very well. I also prefer turkey to ham and more mustard on my sandwich."

"Oh, well, I'll be sure to take your order next time," Dean responded with a fake smile. Unbelievable.

"Be sure you do," Castiel responded, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Dean blinked. "That was a joke. You actually made a joke."

"Sleep well, Dean." Castiel said simply with his back turned as he walked towards Inias's stall, leaving Dean to stare in silence.


	5. With a Heavy Heart

When Dean woke up the next morning, there was a foot of snow on the ground and a text from Charlie saying there was no way she was making it in today. Knowing he'd have twice the work today, Dean forced himself to hurry out of bed and throw his clothes on quickly, skipping his usual cup of coffee. Thankfully Anna's horses gave Dean a lot less trouble than Castiel's bunch. Raphael had a cut on his front leg that Dean had to tend to, but otherwise all the horses were warm and cozy in their stalls with extra hay since there would be no turnout for the foreseeable future. Dean had no idea how Charlie had dealt with running the entire barn by herself for the last few months. By the time it came time to start tacking up Castiel'shorses for the day, he was already worn out. On top of it, he'd have to find a way to work in Anna now, too.

He caught Anna starting to groom Joshua as he finished checking supplies in the feed room and let out a heavy sigh, feeling already too far behind. "Hey, I'm sorry, I've got to tack up Inias real quick and then I can be right over here to finish Joshua for you."

Anna gave a soft smile, "Oh, Dean, I'm not my brother. I can groom and tack my horses on my own, especially when I had to cancel my lessons for the day. Don't worry about me. Castiel is going to be grumpy enough as it is today after I get done with him."

Dean lifted a questioning eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, on bad weather days we have to share the indoor arena, which usually means he works on his Dressage. I inevitably make comments on his riding. He hates it," She laughed and gave the gelding a fond stroke on the neck. "It's all things he needs to hear. C astiel goes to plenty of jumping clinics, but he really hates Dressage so he doesn't put the right focus on it as he should. Inias is so naturally gifted at it that he tends to get lazy with the other horses."

Dean took a side step so that he was in front of one of the heaters, his body finally starting to cool down after rushing around all morning. It was a damn nifty feature of the barn. "Why does he do it if he hates it?"

Anna threw back her head and laughed, a shine of amusement in her eyes at the question. "That's the thing about Eventing, though, isn't it? You can do just Dressage, and you can do just Stadium Jumping. But there is no just Cross-Country in the equestrian world. That's why eventers event. I'll let you in on a little well-known secret," she leaned close to Joshua's neck as if someone else was around to possibly hear, "Most eventers hate Dressage!"

Dean smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. "Really? You don't."

Anna gave a tilt of her head in agreement. "Yes, true, but I'm the rare one. I never minded doing Dressage, but after my jumping accident that sort of was the only option for me."

Dean gave her an apologetic look. "Were you just too scared to jump again?"

"That's part of it, yes," Anna answered before placing the saddle blanket up on Joshua's back. "My horse at the time, Bartholomew, flipped over one of the jumps out on the course. He landed right on top of me. Broke my hip. I'm just lucky to be alive let alone riding at all anymore." She gave Joshua's nose a fond stroke, the memory bringing up something painful inside of her. "The pain of trying to ride in a shorter stirrup or two-point is just too excruciating any longer. Bartholomew had to be euthanized. I just didn't think it was worth trying to get past my fears and pain to keep doing It ."

Seeing those kinds of injuries in reining and cutting wasn't very common, but Dean had been around rodeos enough to see riders getting completely crushed by the animal they placed their trust in. Cas isn't afraid, though?"

"I think all of us are a little scared when we go out there, knowing what could happen," Anna started as she placed her saddle on Joshua's back, "But Castiel loves it too much. I've never seen him happier than when he goes double clear on cross-country."

"Do you get scared watching him?" Dean asked.

Anna laughed, "Are you kidding? I have to take a shot of tequila before I watch him ride, even if it's 8 am in the morning!"

Dean smiled. It was easy to fall into conversation with Anna. He wished it were that easy with the man he worked for. "Alfie told me I should talk to you, you know, on what makes Cas tick."

"Oh, and what, you think I know the answer to that?" Anna giggled with a shake of her head. "I may have lived with Castiel my entire life, but I have no idea what makes my brother tick." She made sure the girth was secure and let the flap of the saddle fall back down. "All that I do know is that Castiel was much better as a student than being the teacher."

"So, he likes to take orders instead of give them," Dean spoke thoughtfully, mainly to himself, as he rubbed a hand across his chin.

"You could put it that way, sure," Anna nodded, bending down to wrap Joshua's legs in white polo wraps. "He was always the pristine student that did everything he was told. It really pissed everyone else off, even me. He cares about his students, but…I think he tries so hard to keep the line of professionalism that he pushes everyone away, you know? A farm is hardly a corporate business. People date and marry each other in the equestrian world all the time." Anna pushed herself back up and placed a hand on her hip. "In fact, it's kind of weird when that's not the case."

Dean licked his lips and crossed his arms with a grin, "So you're an anomaly all the way around?"

"Mmm, I was always the rebellious child," Anna hummed in agreement. " Castiel was always Mother's perfect little angel. I think that's why it was worse for her when he followed me into this life." Anna disappeared for a moment to grab the bridle and her helmet from the tack room. "Why don't you come join us for dinner tonight? I think it would be good for you and Castiel to try and get to know each other a little outside of the barn."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Dean asked, hesitant to provide her with an affirmative answer, knowing that Castiel would probably make it extremely awkward.

Anna gave a playful smile, "Of course it is. Besides, Richard loves to cook for people, and with the restaurant closed for the next few days he needs to have someone to impress."

Dean wanted to say no, but he figured Anna would find some way to coerce him into it despite it, so there was no use trying to fight it. "Yeah, ok. Just let me know what time I should come."

"Seven? That should give you time to finish things at the barn and clean up," Anna suggested.

"Sure," Dean nodded, giving her a small smile, despite his nervousness. "Well, I'm going to go get Inias ready." He excused himself and walked through the lounge to Castiel's wing.

Since the horses were already in, Dean decided to watch the first part of Castiel's ride. Anna was in with Joshua, and she had not been joking when she had said she would critique her brother's riding. Anna had even stopped Joshua in the middle of the ring to place her full concentrate on him.

"Stop letting go of your outside reign!" Anna shouted.

"I'm not letting go!" Castiel yelled back as he turned Inias into a circle.

"Yes you are! Right there! His right shoulder totally fell out just then. You are trying to keep him together with just your leg and seat, but he needs the strong outside reign going to the left. There! That's much nicer. Now hold that and go down the long side and circle at the other end. Keep that outside reign." Dean watched in amusement as Castiel did as he was told. Anna had been right that Castiel was much better at taking orders.

Dean stayed to watch a little longer before stepping away to tack up Abaddon. The pattern continued throughout the day each time Anna and Castiel were in the arena together. Dean had quickly caught on to the fact Castiel would wait to enter the arena until Anna would leave to avoid his sister. "You know," Dean began as Castiel stood next to a fully-tacked Gabriel, waiting, "I can tell a difference when Anna has you make those corrections."

Castiel tensed, the muscles in his crossed arms constricting. With a clenched jaw Castiel turned his gaze and glared. "And what would you know about that?"

Dean gave a nonchalant shrug, blowing off what was meant to be a stab at his intelligence . "I mean I'm no expert on Dressage, but I do know you are scored on submission and impulsion. You lose him in the back end and in his shoulder whe n you let go of the outside rein. He kind of collapses in on you."

Castiel swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "He doesn't collapse." There was a slight bite in his voice; defensive for sure. "He might be dropping out slightly on me to the outside. "

Dean's laugh had to be swallowed. "Ok, sure. What do I know, right?" Dean didn't know if Anna was done riding or not, but he began bridling Gabriel anyway. "What is it that bothers you? That you aren't perfect, or that it's Anna making the corrections?"

"I don't need her to tell me what I'm doing wrong," Castiel hissed, fists clenched down at his side like he was a child throwing a temper-tantrum. "I am fully capable of making my own corrections."

So it was the fact it was Anna. Dean had to admit, he'd probably tell Sam to shut the hell up if his kid brother had ever tried to correct him riding. He finished buckling the throat latch and thrust Castiel the reins. "So then tune her out if it bothers you so much. Don't react to her."

Castiel snatched the reins away with a glower. "I do not pay you to tell me how to ride."

Dean rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as Castiel walked away with Gabriel. So much for just trying to make the guy feel better about it.

"Boy, you sure are making friends, ain'cha ?" Bobby gave an amused snort as he approached Dean from behind.

Dean ran a hand through his hair and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't know, Bobby. I' m trying to play nice here."

"Well," he placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "You can play nice by helping me shovel the driveway."

"Oh come on ," Dean groaned, but followed behind Bobby anyway.

/*/

It had been a chore for Dean to find a pair of jeans without holes and a shirt that wasn't severely wrinkled from having been shoved in the back of a drawer somewhere. He really didn't have anything nice, but he wanted to look presentable at least for Anna's sake. It finally took Bobby telling him he looked fine and locking him out of the loft for him to brave the outside chill and walk the distance up to house. Thankfully, it was Anna that greeted him at the door in a pair of pressed jeans and a sweater. There was a breath of relief that she had kept it casual.

"Dean! Come in!" She opened the door wide so that Dean could come in out of the cold.

If he had thought the barn was incredible, he didn't even know how to describe the house. It wasn't very large, but what was there certainly made a statement. A framed photo with a blue ribbon attached to the frame caught his eye. It was a photo of a much younger Castiel.

Anna realized what Dean was looking at and let herself gaze at the photo with a fond longing. "His first one-star win. I miss those days sometimes."

"Simpler?" Dean asked, knowing how hard owning your own establishment could be.

"Sure," Anna nodded, "Of course there's definitely something to be said for having our own place. Wouldn't change it for anything, but yes, those days were simpler. Castiel wasn't quote so... Castiel."

"What do you think changed?" Dean asked, worried he might be digging too deep.

"Our dad died," Anna responded simply, a sadness in her eyes as she played with the pendant on her necklace. "It was a gradual change, but it definitely started after his death. They were pretty close. My accident definitely didn't help. I think ...," she tilted her head sadly, "H e'd rather just keep people at a distance than risk getting hurt later on."

Dean bit slightly at the inside of his lip, understanding what it felt like to lose a parent. It still stung, months later. In his own way, he had distanced himself from Sam. He had always wanted Sam to stay at the farm, but the moment he had told them he was accepted to Stanford, he had pushed his brother away. Now, he was only just over an hour away from DC...he'd have to cross that bridge eventually. Probably sooner rather than later. He made a note to call Sam later.

"Wow, bringing down the mood, huh?" Anna gave a small laugh. "Come on, I've got beer and wine waiting for us. I don't know about you, but I could definitely put down a few glasses!"

"Yeah, totally," Dean nodded, taking in the strong food smell the closer they got to the kitchen. "Wow, smells amazing."

"Thanks!" The gentleman at the stove grinned. He wiped off his hands with the towel that had been swung over his shoulder and extended it to shake hands with Dean. "Richard. Nice to meet you." He was about Dean's height with dark hair and a full beard.

"Likewise," Dean shook it firmly, catching a glimpse of what was on the stove, his eyes going wide. "Is that pie?"

Richard laughed, the corners of his e yes crinkling, "I might have heard from a little birdie that you might be a fan of it."

"Well, I can safely say that I would like to skip the main course and go straight to the desert," Dean couldn't help but rub his hand absently across his stomach, admiring the elaborately decorated pie crust.

"What is he doing here?"

Dean turned to see Castiel staring at him from the other side of the island. Awkward. Anna had apparently failed to mention his invitation. Dean opened his mouth to respond, but Anna beat him to it.

"Don't ask silly questions, Castiel, he's here to eat like the rest of us," Anna scoffed with a cluck of her tongue, clearly irritated by her brother's inquiry.

"Why?" Castiel asked, his eyes unwavering from their lock on Dean.

"Because I invited him," Anna spoke as she opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Dean?"

"Yeah, thanks," Dean took the proffered beer and popped it open with his ring. He honestly didn't know what to say. "If I t's a problem-,"

"It's not," Anna snapped quickly, throwing a glare at her brother over her should er as she placed another beer next to her husband at the stove.

"No, of course it's not," Castiel reluctantly spoke after his sister's response , his eyes still glued on to Castiel.

It obviously bothered the rider, but Dean figured if he said something it would just make it even weirder.

Richard gave a cough, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "So, Dean, Anna tells me that you used to have a cutting ranch?"

"My family did, yeah," Dean nodded, thankful for the distraction from his boss. "A summer fire unfortunately took the place out. We saved the horses and most of the cattle, but I lost my parents."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Richard responded, his sympathy honest. "Is that why you decided not to continue in the business?"

"My brother and I got the insurance money, but we had plenty of debts to pay and not enough left over to start new. So, I sold the horses and the cattle. Can't really cut without either," Dean gave a melancholy smile. "All I've got left is my Baby. She's with some family friends back in Kansas. I'm letting my friend show her in some reining competitions for a while."

"Oh, do you have photos of her?" Anna asked curiously.

Dean's smile was genuine this time, pulling out his phone. He never passed by an opportunity to show off Baby. He used his finger to navigate through a few pages before handing the phone to Anna. "That's her. Registered Quarter Horse."

Anna's eyes lit up, "Oh, she's pure black! How gorgeous! And look at you, cowboy!"

"So you do ride, after all." Castiel spoke plainly as he curiously peered over his sister's shoulder.

Dean gave an uncomfortable cough, shifting his weight back. "What, did you think I was lying?"

"I didn't think anything," Castiel shrugged as he poured himself a glass of water.

"Oh, stop it, Castiel!" Anna hissed as she slapped her brother's hand. "Dean is our guest. He has done nothing but be extremely helpful since we hired him, and you said yourself Lucifer has behaved so much better since Dean started working with him!"

Castiel seemed to shrink in on himself at the mention of Lucifer, like he had never wanted Dean to know he thought that. "It's improved, yes, but I would hardly say it's much better!"

"Oh, admit it!" Anna growled, enough to cause Richard to take a step away from the stove and next to Dean to let the siblings fight it out. "Dean's two weeks here have been better than the last two years of the off and on wannabe barn managers you've had come and go."

"I never said he wasn't," Castiel argued back defensively, crossing his arms.

"Are they always like this?" Dean asked Richard as he drowned out the fight.

"Oh yeah," Richard nodded with a swig of a his beer. "I love the hell out of Anna, but sometimes I wish we lived by ourselves. This has been a topic of conversation for a while, now, and it's getting a little old. I'm ready for at different topic of arguments." They let the shouting go on a few more seconds before Richard asked, "Hey, you wanna go see the man cave? The steaks got a little bit longer to cook."

"Yeah, definitely," Dean nodded , eager to step away from the quickly escalating situation. For a moment he had thought things were going ok with Castiel. They had slipped into a comfortable conversation the other night. It wasn't exactly what he'd call 'friendly', but the air was at least a little thinner. He wasn't sure what had seemed to change so suddenly.

/*/

"Castiel, why do you do this!?" Anna questioned, her voice starting to quiver out of desperation and frustration.

Castiel gave a snort, sticking his nose up at his sister. "Why do you insist that I like people that I do not?"

"Like?! Castiel, you aren't even civil!" Anna hissed, her fingers clutching the sleeves of her sweater where her arms w ere crossed. "There is absolutely nothing to dislike about Dean, Castiel! What is your problem?"

"Oh, yes, Dean Winchester is absolutely perfect," Castiel crossed his own arms and clenched his jaw in irritation. "If he's so perfect, why not make him your own groom and give me Charlie?"

Anna gasped, her arms falling by her side and her mouth ajar in realization. "You...you are jealous! You are jealous that everyone actually likes Dean!"

Castiel took a step back in shock, his blue eyes growing extremely wide. "W-what? N-no! I'm not jealous!"

"You are!" Anna retorted. "I should have known! All of your students have been bending over backwards to help Dean. They've never done that for anyone else. It's making you mad that he's stealing their affections away from you! Especially Alfie!"

"This is ridiculous!" Castiel scoffed defensively, but he could not hide his now flushed ears that ran hot in embarrassment that his sister had nailed the issue right on the head. It was true that Alfie had been spending a lot of time with Dean. Usually the kid would spend at least two days a week going over riding plans outside of lessons and reviewing upcoming shows and clinics. Alfie had not sat down with Castiel once since Dean's arrival. "If my students would rather spend their time with Dean than being serious about their riding, then that is their choice." He had tried to make it sound like he didn't care, but the way it came out only made him sound more pitiful.

"If you were nicer to your employees, your students wouldn't have to help in their spare time!" Anna snapped, seeing right through her brother's façade . "Maybe you should take a step back and think about the fact your students are trying so hard to set Dean up for success. They want him here, and you should, too. A good groom and barn manager makes a lot less work for you so that you can focus on what you are here to do - RIDE!" Anna realized she had been screaming and with a huge sigh she let her body relax and closed her eyes to help center herself again. "Castiel...please. Help me to understand."

Castiel could feel that he was shrinking in on himself. He didn't know how to explain it to her. How he could possibly make her understand. "I don't dislike Dean...I - We have actually had some civil conversations if you must know."

"I never would have guessed, " Anna said, trying to keep her voice soft and body relaxed. "When was the last time you had one of these 'civil' conversations?"

"Last night I walked in on him working with Lucifer when I went to see Inias. It was late, and I was surprised to see him still there," Castiel explained, turning his gaze to the floor unable to look at his sister straight on.

"Surprised like you were to see him here," Anna nodded, "but you not get angry at him then?"

"No," Castiel gave the slightest shake of his head. "I was...happy to see him working with Lucifer."

There was another heavy sigh from Anna and she held up her hand to stop him from speaking any further. "I know what this is. I think I knew it all along. Castiel, you can't close yourself off from the world forever. You'll be miserable if you keep doing It."

Castiel already felt miserable, but the pain from losing his father was so terrible that he never wanted to experience it again. He almost had to live through the agony again with Anna after her accident. It was just easier this way. The one person he had considered opening up to had never shown interest in being with a man, and was now engaged. It was bad enough he had to still see Gadreel on a regular basis as it were...

Castiel felt Anna take his face in her hands and force him to look at her. "Baby brother, believe me when I say it is so much better to have loved and lost than to never love at all."

Castiel's head tilted to the side and closed his eyes, feeling a great comfort with her touch. But Castiel wasn't sure her words to be true. He wasn't sure if he could ever love at all.


	6. New Horizons

Charlie let the binders she had been carrying slam down on the desk in front of Dean, startling him from his gaze. "Dude. What is it with you? You have so not been with it the last few days. You're just going through the motions with this zoned outlook. I know the weather kind of makes you go crazy after a few days, but this is absurd."

"What?" Dean frowned, offended by the accusation, "I am not zoning out."

"You totally are," Charlie sighed as she pulled up a seat across from him. "Spill."

"There ain't nothing to spill, Charlie," Dean insisted, giving his eyes a few hard blinks and looking down at the laptop screen again, trying to figure out what he had even been doing.

"Uh-huh. Bobby told me you and Cas got into it when Anna invited you over for dinner. That wouldn't have anything to do with it, would it?" Charlie tilted her head questioningly.

Dean's jaw tightened in irritation. "Jesus, does Bobby always go around telling the world everything?"

"Oh, hon," Charlie hummed sympathetically, "You've been in the equestrian world long enough to know that nothing is secret. Nothing is safe."

Dean looked away, avoiding Charlie's gaze, but he knew she wouldn't leave him alone until he gave her an answer. "Things were going ok, mostly, until then. Now it's back to being awkward. I mean, me and Richard totally hit it off so that's cool, but Cas is back to being a total dick."

"He goes through these phases," Charlie shrugged, not very bothered by the information. "Give him another week and he'll be back to tolerable. Seriously, having to ride in the indoor arena with Anna probably has more to do with it than you."

"You aren't the only one who suffers, you know," Gadreel spoke as he walked past their table towards the fridge to grab a Gatorade. "He's been especially short during our lessons. I thought maybe it was because of the snow, but if he's getting into it with Anna again, that would make much more sense."

"I don't get it," Dean huffed as he leaned back in his chair with crossed arms, giving up on whatever it was he had been working on, "Why do you all stay around to ride with him if he's like that?"

"It's the same for any sport," Gadreel shrugged, "The best are not the friendliest. And Castiel does have his moments…He hired you, for one. I've noticed a change in Ezekiel since you've started working here. He's much more approachable. The smallest sound doesn't scare him anymore."

"Cas told me that you thought he might have been abused previously," Dean stated, "And there's no way to get past that unless you get the horse to trust you. I've just made sure I've spent a little extra time with him each time I go in his stall, put my hands on him all over. He still flinches around his face, but it's not so bad. The more you do it, too, the better he's going to get. Cas gets too busy sometimes, forgets he's around animals."

Gadreel hummed and gave a nod, "Inias is as bombproof as they come. It's easy to fall into that habit."

"Yeah, well," Dean sighed out of minor frustration. "Cas hasn't come down yet and didn't leave a schedule, so I think I'm going to use this time to work with Lucifer until then."

Charlie smiled and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Cas will get better, promise. And look at all you've accomplished with Lucifer in the past two weeks! He's like a different horse! Well, sort of." She cringed thinking about how he managed to get a hold of Bobby's hand this morning during feeding.

Dean responded with a snort. Lucifer had begun showing Dean a little more respect than he had in the beginning, but he was still the same old Lucifer with everyone else. Castiel had been able to get good rides out of the gelding, but his ground manners left a lot to be desired. "Baby steps, I guess."

/*/

"I apologize for my tardiness."

Dean turned from where he was latching the door to Lucifer's stall, having just finished working with him. Castiel's hair was even more out of place than it usually was, and his eyes were red. "You look like shit, dude."

There was the faintest hint of a smile. "Yes, I would imagine so. I have not been sleeping well the past few nights."

Dean hung the halter, neat and orderly just like Castiel liked it, and sighed internally. He was not exactly one to talk about feelings, but he still asked the question, "You wanna talk about it?"

"No," Castiel responded, "but, thank you for asking."

Dean shrugged, he had at least tried. "Sorry, you didn't leave me a list for this morning so I just did some work with Lucifer after my morning rounds."

"Yes, no, I don't think I am going to ride today. I don't think it would be wise," Castiel admitted. "I have lessons with Tessa and Samandriel this afternoon if they feel safe to drive, and I think that might be enough. I did have a favor to ask of you, though."

"Shoot."

"Today would be a good day to go into town. Not many people will be out. But, I will admit I do not feel very comfortable driving with snow. I know that the main roads are treated and fine, but we are in the country," Castiel explained, shifting his weight somewhat nervously.

Charlie had admitted to Dean that the back roads to the barn weren't the greatest, but that a truck wouldn't have any problems navigating. "So, what? You want me to drive you?" It was definitely an odd request.

"If, you don't mind." Castiel's eyes shot to the ground, his typical defense mechanism, Dean noticed. "The first show is in three weeks, and it's been an unusually cold winter. I need to pick up some heavier show clothes or else I might find myself frozen on top of the horses. I will take you to lunch, if that incites you."

Dean smirked. No way he could say no to some free food just for being Castiel's chauffer. "Throw in a beer and you've got a deal."

Castiel's eyes narrowed and his nose wrinkled just slightly in confusion. "But you're driving."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Jesus, Cas, one beer isn't going to make me a driving hazard. When do you want to go?"

"Now, if you are able." Castiel pulled the keys to the truck from his pocket and held them out for Dean to take.

After letting Bobby know where he and Castiel were going if anyone asked, Dean hopped into the driver's seat of the truck and fired it up, giving it a moment to start generating enough heat that he couldn't see his breath. He was used to the cold, living in Kansas, but this was downright miserable. He hated February. "I don't know where we are going," Dean said casually as Castiel settled into the passenger's seat.

"I will direct you," Castiel spoke, unconcerned as he buckled his belt. "Head towards town for now."

Dean shifted the truck into gear and pulled out from the bar towards the long driveway he had helped Bobby clear the other day. "He's fine, but just so you know, Lucifer had a cut on his leg this morning."

"I'm not surprised," Castiel answered, "Considering how much of an idiot he was when Bobby turned him out for those few hours yesterday. He is truly impossible. You have three weeks to try and calm him down enough he doesn't embarrass me at the show."

"Wait," Dean took a minute to glance over at Castiel, frowning, "You are taking Lucifer to the show?"

"I didn't buy him to sit around and look pretty in my pasture, Dean," Castiel scoffed. "I'm only showing him Training. He's shown much higher than that previously, so I know it won't be anything that could he can't handle if he throws a fuss."

"You aren't worried he'll take out the stall overnight or something?" Dean asked, clear worry on his face as he tried to keep his eyes on the road.

"That's why I pay you to worry about it and not me," Castiel shrugged casually. "You have three more weeks. I'm sure you'll think of something."

Taking Lucifer to a show just had bad idea written all over it. Yeah, the gelding had been having some really great rides with Castiel lately, but show grounds were a whole new beast. "Ok, look, are you completely opposed to maybe picking up some calming supplements while we are out?"

"Not opposed," Castiel gave a small shake of his head, "I just prefer not using calming supplements unless it is a last resort. Many riders resort to supplements and medications to mask underlying problems."

"Trust me Cas, this is last resort," Dean assured him. "I've had a lot of success with it in the past with some of my dad's hot-headed Arab mixes -,"

Castiel cut him off, "You don't need to convince me, Dean. It is only supplements. It's not going to kill him if they don't work. Pick up whatever you need."

Relief washed over Dean. He had figured Castiel would put up way more of a fight about it than he had. "Good. Ok." They drove the fifteen minutes it took to get in to town. "Cas, what now?" There was no response. "Cas?" Dean looked over and Castiel was fast asleep, his forehead resting against the window. A hand reached out to shake him, but with a sigh Dean retracted it and pulled over. Pulling out his phone from his back pocket he opened up Google maps and did a quick look to figure out where he was going. No use in waking the guy when he had technology at his fingertips.

Castiel was still knocked out when Dean finally pulled into the mostly empty parking lot of Dover. Dean was thankful for having the store mostly to themselves. He wasn't sure he could handle a bunch of stuck up teens on top of Castiel. "Hey man, we're here."

Castiel woke with a start in a state of confusion. When he realized where they were he gave a groan and wiped a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Looks like you needed it," Dean gave a shrug and opened the door to the truck to step out. "You sure you ok?" He locked the truck behind them as they meandered casually towards the entrance to the large store that was shaped like a stable. Dean opened the door and was overwhelmed by the strong smell of leather.

"Hi, welcome to Dover!" The woman at the register greeted them.

Dean couldn't help but let his jaw drop slightly. The place was huge, and a lot more orderly than the western stores he frequented with his dad. He didn't even want to look at the price tag of this stuff.

"Dover is not my preferred place for my things, but lack of foresight and the weather are forcing my hand," Castiel grumbled under his breath.

"The stuff looks really nice," Dean shrugged, not seeing what Castiel could have a problem with.

"I don't disagree, but my sponsors usually take care of these sorts of things if I think to ask ahead of time. But three weeks simply isn't long enough to get the order in and tailored if there is any sort of hiccup," Castiel explained.

Sponsors. Of course Castiel had freaking sponsors. "Ok, well, I'm going to go try and pick out something for Lucifer, ok?" Castiel gave a nod and went off towards the clothing section of the store. Even in such a large store, it was sectioned off in such a way it made it easy to pick out where the supplements were. There was at least two rows worth of shelves with various assortments.

"Ok," Dean mused to himself as he began following the products on the shelf with his finger, reading each label carefully until he came across what he was looking for. "Ah, here we go," he picked up the small container and flipped it around to read the back making sure this was the one he remembered. Satisfied with his choice, he looked for a bigger container, because this might last a few weeks at best with Lucifer. Placing the container back in its spot on the shelf he bent down and grabbed one that was at least three times larger. "That's more like it."

"You can leave that at the counter, if you want," The woman offered as Dean walked buy, container in hand. Her nametag read 'Ashley'.

Dean gave her a sweet smile as he placed the container in front of her, "Thanks." She winked and twirled her blonde hair in response. "Ok," Dean mumbled under his breath and quickly looked around to find Castiel who was trying on a jacket.

"It'll do for Dressage," Castiel mused as he looked at himself in the mirror, wearing the black jacket. "It's a nice heavy wool material. I suppose I'll have to suffer through Show Jumping."

"What, they don't have one that'll work?" Dean asked, admiring the way the jacket hugged the rider just right.

"They have plenty that would do, but I am quite enamored with my custom blue jacket, and wouldn't feel right wearing anything else," Castiel explained as he shrugged out of the jacket and put it back on the hanger. "I have had issues in the past getting retail jackets to fit me correctly in the shoulders to allow for the proper movement over fences. I'll just have to wear an undershirt to help for warmth. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be warmer than I am expecting, but I doubt it."

"Better to be over prepared, I guess," Dean nodded in understanding. Most western competitions were indoors, so weather was never too much of an issue except around the stable areas where it under cover but open.

"Did you find what you need?" Castiel asked as he wandered around the rest of the store slowly, seeing if there was anything else he might have required why he was here.

"Uh, yeah, I did thanks," Dean said as he watched Castiel snatch a pair of wool riding socks from a rack and then placing those and the jacket on the counter in front of Ashley.

"This it?" Ashley asked as she entered her code into the register.

"Yes, thank you," Castiel nodded as he pulled his wallet from his jacket to pay.

Ashley rung up all three items. "Ok, you're totally will be $603.65."

Dean's eyes went wide, "Jesus, Cas. How expensive was that jacket?"

"Does it matter if you aren't paying for it?" Castiel questioned as he handed over his card.

"I guess not," Dean responded, still cringing at the price flashing in bright green at the register as Ashley swiped the card.

Ashley bagged the items as Castiel signed the card and smiled as she handed the bag over. "Have a great day and drive safely!"

"You too," Castiel mumbled as he stared at something on his receipt while they walked out of the store. "I think this might be for you."

Dean took the proffered piece of paper. In large neat letters read: Call me! 434-208-8895 – Ashley. With a flinch he instantly handed it back. "Yeah, I don't think I'll be calling. You can keep that."

Castiel smiled in amusement as he opened the door to the truck. "I never did think to ask if you were with anyone."

"Why you askin, Cas?" Dean questioned as he settled into his seat. "You interested?" There was a wink.

"Would you blame me if I were?" Castiel responded coyly without missing a beat.

Dean grinned as he started the truck, "Not a bit. It's hard to resist these good looks and great charm. In case you were wondering; I'm an Aquarius and like holding hands and long walks on the beach." Castiel scoffed and shook his head. It seemed that Charlie was right, and that Castiel was getting back out of his funk. Who knew the rider had a bit of a snarky side to him? "To answer your question, the only woman in my life is my horse back in Kansas."

"Do you miss her?" Castiel asked as they pulled back out onto the road.

"Tons," Dean nodded. "But Jo and Ellen will take great care of her. I'm not worried."

"You have vacation time, you know," Castiel said, absently adjusting the heating vents in front of him.

Dean laughed, "If I go back to Kansas there will be zero vacationing. Ellen will make me work around the farm no matter how hard I try and avoid it. Nah, I'd go see my brother and his wife. They are up in DC, so it's not far."

"You and your brother…do you have a good relationship?" Castiel asked.

"Me and Sammy? Hell yeah," Dean nodded. "I'd do anything for him. I love the hell out of that kid, and Jess is awesome. Dad held on to the grudge to his grave after Sam left, but I could never fault him for wanting to do something else."

Castiel hummed thoughtfully to himself, resting his forehead against the cold glass of the window and staring out at the road. "Anna and I…we've been fighting a lot since dinner that night."

Dean glanced over, his smile fading. "That why you can't sleep?"

"Yes," Castiel nodded against the glass. "I don't like hearing what she has to say, even though I know she's right."

"About what?"

Castiel didn't answer right away, making Dean think he shouldn't have asked. "I push everyone away. Friends, family, or otherwise."

Dean licked his lips, "This because of your dad?"

"Yes," Castiel nodded, "but simply knowing you have an issue doesn't make it easy to solve."

"No, but it's the first step," Dean responded, trying to lighten up the heavy mood that had descended on them.

Castiel gave a small smile. "You're the first person I've told that to, you know."

"Huh, well then I should feel honored," Dean smiled back.

"I feel…," He paused, trying to find the words before turning to look at Dean. "It's easy to fall into conversation with you."

"I can't say the same for you," Dean responded back jokingly.

Castiel tilted his head in agreement, "No, I imagine not. I appreciate you staying, despite my days where I wasn't exactly on my best behavior. I've had a bad run of grooms and managers recently and simply expected you'd be the same. I've said it before, but I'll say again that I was wrong."

Dean didn't really know how to respond to Castiel opening up to him like this. There was a small shrug, "It's fine, Cas, really. Despite what Anna and Charlie and everyone else say, you aren't all that bad. I've seen way worse." His dad, for one.

"I appreciate that, Dean, but you haven't seen me at my worst," Castiel responded with amusement in his voice. "I hope that you don't have to."

"Yeah, well, you're about to see me at my worst unless I get some food down me. Where are grabbing some grub?" Dean asked, changing the subject.

"When we get back in to town, go to Daniel's Pub," Castiel instructed. "They have phenomenal burgers and plenty of beer for you to choose from."

The great town of The Plains, Virginia, wasn't exactly big. It was easy to find the pub Castiel was talking about, with plenty of parking spaces available since most people were still avoiding the roads. Dean was just about to open the door when his pocket began to vibrate. It was Sam. "Hey, Cas, go on in, I gotta take this real quick."

"Of course," Castiel opened the door and walked into the pub.

"Hey Sammy," Dean answered the call, huddling as close as he could to the door for some sort of warmth in the cold air. Small flakes were starting to fall again.

"Dean, hey! Is this a bad time?"

"No, just grabbing lunch. What's up?"

"I've been promising Jess we would go to the Kentucky Derby this year. When she was looking up things to do, she saw that there is that big horse show the week before: The Rolex. Are you going to be there with Cas? We'll extend our trip if we can see you."

Dean's heart fluttered in excitement at seeing his brother again. "Uh, yeah I think so? That's like the biggest show of the year; I don't think he'd miss it."

"Well, just make sure and let us know so we can make plans. I know you'd have to work while you're there, but it would be great to see you even for a minute!"

"Yeah, I'll uh, I'll ask him next time I see him and let you know."

"Great! Hey, I'll let you go, I've got another call coming in."

"Alright, alright, Mr. Popular. Bye," Dean rolled his eyes and ended the call. Without a pause he dashed into the warmth of the pub and found Castiel at a high-table. "Hey, sorry about that."

"It's no problem," Castiel shrugged. "I hope you don't mind. I ordered you their burger with bacon and beer."

"No problem at all," Dean shook his head, taking off his jacket. "Hey, we're going to the Rolex this year, right?"

"Of course," Castiel responded. "I don't miss the Rolex. Inias is in top form, and I am thinking about taking Balthazar as well. If Ezekiel does well at the three-star in a few weeks, Gadreel is considering entering, also."

"Awesome, thanks," he gave the waitress a smile as she placed the beer down in front of him. "That was my brother on the phone. He and Jess are going to the Derby, and he wanted to come see me at the show if we were going to be there."

"Well, tell him to come, then. Remind me closer to, and I can make sure they are allowed access to the barn area," Castiel told him.

"Really? Thanks, man," Dean took a happy and long swig of his beer. Maybe, Castiel wasn't so bad after all.


	7. At First Light

Charlie watched from the door frame with her arms crossed and an amused smirk on her face as Dean frowned at his checklist for the millionth time, pen secured between his lips. "How many times do you have to go through that thing to convince yourself you haven't forgotten anything?"

Dean didn't offer a response right away, almost as if he hadn't heard Charlie's voice while he continued going through the checklist. After his finger reached the end of the page he removed the pen from his mouth and answered, "I'm just trying to not fuck up."

Charlie rolled her eyes and stepped over the pile of supplies on the ground of the tack room so that she could snatch the list out of Dean's hands. "You've got everything, stop worrying so much about it! Besides, there are always tons of vendors at these shows so if you forget anything you can just buy it there. But you didn't forget anything."

Dean opened his mouth like he was about to protest, but he thought better of it as he pushed up off his knees to his feet, a slight wince in his actions. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Bobby hook up the trailer already?"

With a nod Charlie started gathering a few items into her hands to help. "Yup. I already opened everything up. Tessa and Alfie were already working on getting some of their stuff loaded in there. Bobby is helping fill hay nets and getting feed put together."

"Great, thanks." Dean grabbed the handle of the heaviest tack trunk and lifted it up so it rested against the wheels. He knew he shouldn't have been this nervous, having been through the grind of shows a hundred times before. But Charlie wouldn't be there to help him if anything went wrong. All he had to rely on was the under-the-table help from Gadreel and Alfie. Muriel always helped, but she was sitting this show out so she could go to the one towards the end of the month that was closer. And Tessa…she was never mean to Dean, but she was most certainly aloof.

Setting her things down in the corner of the tack room of the trailer, Charlie helped Dean lift the trunk up. "I'd be more worried about Castiel being grumpy from the cold all weekend. It's usually a perfect 65 degrees for this show, and he hates when it's cold for shows."

"Well," Dean paused as he gave the trunk a heavy push towards the back, "Castiel and grumpy seem to go hand-in-hand regardless of weather."

"True," Charlie agreed as she jumped off the low edge of the trailer and walked back to the barn next to Dean. "You're sharing a room with him, too, aren't you?"

Dean gave an obvious wince, "Yeah, don't remind me. I might sleep at the barn."

Charlie giggled, grabbing the grooming totes, "I'm sure Gadreel and Alfie would make room for you if it got that bad. I've never roomed with him – thank god – so I can't offer any advice in that department."

"As long as he doesn't snore," Dean offered teasingly as he grabbed Inias's saddle and followed Charlie back out.

/*/

The next morning came far too early for Dean. It had been over a year since he had last been to a show, and he was quickly reminded how much he hated the early wake-ups. Bobby was just as vocal, grumbling underneath his breath as he poured his coffee before going down to feed the horses that were leaving early. Alfie and Gadreel pulled up together in the same vehicle, and Tessa was not far behind. Everyone had large mugs of coffee in hand looking like they had just rolled out of bed and thrown a jacket on without looking in the mirror.

"Aren't you all glad you pay for the pleasure of torturing yourselves?" Dean grinned at them as they shuffled towards him down the aisle.

"Sleep is for the weak," Tessa mumbled as she continued past him towards Abbadon's stall.

"If that's true, I'm really weak," Alfie groaned pitifully, shoving his free hand beneath his armpit.

Gadreel laid a sympathetic hand on the young rider's shoulder, "It's always worth it in the end. Have the horses all been fed?"

"Yeah, about thirty minutes ago," Dean answered. "I'd give them about another fifteen minutes before we load, but I haven't seen His Majesty around yet, anyway."

"I'm right here," Castiel grumbled unhappily and sleepily as he shuffled up behind Dean.

His hair was a mess, Dean feeling a sudden urge to run his fingers through it. Like the rest of the crew, he held a large mug of coffee in his hand. Dean coughed, trying to squash his current thoughts on his boss. "Morning, sunshine."

Castiel responded with a grunt. "How did everyone look this morning?"

"Just like you left them last night," Dean assured. "So cuts, scrapes, or bruises, and Lucifer managed to stay mostly gray."

"Well, that's a relief," Castiel mused before taking a sip of his coffee. His attention towards his students he instructed, "Go ahead and load your things into the truck. By then the horses should be good to start loading."

"I'm going to go ahead and follow behind," Tessa spoke up as she closed Abbadon's door after wrapping her legs. "I have some family there I might go see in the evening."

"Of course," Castiel tilted his head in understanding. "Do you think we should load Lucifer first or last?" He asked after Dean.

"First, definitely," Dean answered confidently. "Normally with a troublesome horse I'd put them on last, let them be comforted that there are other horses on the trailer. I think Lucifer might take offense to the fact he's not first, though."

"Do you think he will still give you problems?"

"Lucifer wouldn't be Lucifer if he didn't," Dean answered. The weight of the peppermints in his pocket gave him somewhat of a comfort, though. The gelding would put up a fuss, undoubtedly, but Dean knew his weakness.

Lucifer ended up stopping three times on the ramp, refusing to move any further no matter how hard Dean tug on the lead-line. Three chances were all the gelding got before Dean reached into the pocket and held out a mint. Lucifer stretched out his neck cautiously, sniffing at Dean's hand before taking a small step forward. Dean took a small one back, and inch by inch he led him into the trailer, Alfie ready at the window to grab his halter so Dean could secure the divider.

Inias and Ezekiel behaved perfectly loading in to the trailer. Gabriel tried to act like an idiot, but one slap on the rear with the lead line was enough to get him to spring up the ramp. Abbadon walked up the ramp without pause, but her ears were flat against her head the entire way in.

After ensuring everything was secured, Dean hoped in the driver's seat, the rest of the crew already situated in the truck. The trailer rocked slightly as the horses shifted in the back, Dean placing the keys in the ignition and the engine roaring to life. He had barely pulled out of the driveway before soft snores from the back seat caused him to look in the rear-view to see Alfie and Gadreel already asleep. "Lucky bastards," he mumbled in amusement.

"If you need to stop at any time, please do," Castiel instructed. "I always leave plenty of travel time for contingencies."

"I should be ok until we need to stop for gas," Dean shrugged as he turned on to the main road. "I got my four hours."

Castiel hummed, "I admire you for only needing four."

"Don't let me stop you from snoozing, sleepy head," Dean spoke, giving the rider a playful smirk in passing before needing to turn his attention back to the road ahead.

Castiel's lip drew up just slightly in response. "Would you rather I not engage you in conversation to help you stay alert?"

"Didn't peg you for the chatty type," Dean responded, switching his hand on the wheel.

"I'm not," Castiel agreed, "But you are, and I listen well. Tell me more about your days as a cowboy.

Dean let out a laugh, "It wasn't as cowboy as I probably would have liked. I always figured I'd really enjoy a real cowboy life out on the range, detached from society. It was a ranch, but it still felt a little too pomp and circumstance for my taste, especially when Dad got into the reigning side of things."

"I enjoy getting away from the barn some days, taking the horses out on the trails behind the barn," Castiel spoke out of sentiment. "I'll be gone for hours, listening to nothing but the stream and the birds. But I could not imagine doing that for days on end."

"Don't knock it till you try it," Dean countered. "Have you actually ever stayed out in the wilderness before? Just you and your horse?"

"I'm not sure Inias would be any more up to it than I," Castiel argued back. "But, perhaps if I tried it with a horse more accustom to such outings."

"Nothing better than a good ranch horse," Dean grinned fondly, thinking about the times he had taken Baby out for a day or two when he and his dad had gotten into fights. He'd disappear for days. "You should try it sometime."

"I'll try it," Castiel responded, "but only if you agree to take a Dressage lesson on one of Anna's warmbloods."

Dean scoffed, "I'd look ridiculous in those stupid tights."

Castiel grinned, "I know."

Eyebrows shot up at the unexpected response. "Ok, wise guy. Fine, you've got yourself a deal. You come out with me to Kansas one of these days and I show you what it's like to be a real horseman."

"Deal," Castiel agreed. "I can imagine myself much more in a pair of jeans and a cowboy hat than I can imagine you pulling off breeches and tall boots."

"What, like you pull off that look great?" Dean questioned defensively.

Castiel gave an unapologetic shrug, "Yes."

Well, Dean certainly had to agree that Castiel's ass in those breeches looked fine, but the guy didn't have to be so damn smug about it. "Geez, you aren't lacking in confidence, are you?"

"I cannot expect others to have confidence in me if I do not have it in myself," Castiel said simply, as if it were the most basic concept in the world. Taking a sip of his coffee he rested his head against the cool glass of the window. "Do you regret giving it up? Your family business?"

Dean remained silent right off, adjusting his hands on the steering wheel in thought and shifting his seat in an uncomfortable manner. "Sometimes, I guess, yeah. I love working with horses. I couldn't imagine a life where I didn't. But my dad… I don't know. We didn't really see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but he was my dad, you know? I did what he said because he was my dad, but the show life really wasn't for me. I did a few rodeos, and the smaller ones could be a lot of fun, but it wasn't what I wanted to do forever."

"If you don't like the showing aspect of riding, why did you agree then to work at a show barn?" Castiel asked curiously, his eyes squinting in a fashion that made Dean want to laugh.

"It was either that or continue working for free on Ellen's ranch just so I'd have a roof over my head," Dean scoffed.

"Surely there were other barns you could have worked for in your discipline, though?" Castiel questioned. "Instead you threw yourself into something completely unknown to you."

"Fresh start, I guess," Dean shrugged. "I knew everyone there was to know in the cutting world, and I just wasn't interested in seeing them anymore."

Castiel only hummed in understanding, sinking into his seat for a more comfortable lounging position. They fell into a comfortable silence, the rider eventually lulled to sleep leaving Dean to fend for himself. With an amused snort Dean gave a glance over to the sleeping man, unable to help himself from thinking how adorable he looked dead from the world.

/*/

Dean stopped halfway to fill up the truck and grab a coffee, the lack of sleeping finally getting to a point he couldn't ignore it any longer. Gadreel and Castiel woke long enough to use the restroom, but Alfie remained passed out in the back seat until they pulled into the long driveway of the barn. The sun had just made it over the horizon, the pastures still blanketed in a covering of fog. They were far from the first ones there, a line of trailers at the check in point to be given direction by the volunteers.

Dean received his instructions on which barn and stalls they were assigned and where to park and unhook the trailer, first pulling up next to their assigned barn to offload.

"Get everything offloaded and the horses in their stalls so Dean can take care of the trailer," Castiel instructed. "We'll worry about set-up and organization after."

Dean helped to move things along, the line of other trailers steadily growing in anticipation of their own turn to get situated. Lucifer was on full alert, snorting heavily with wide eyes after Dean backed him down the ramp. He let the gelding have a few moments to take it in, but then gave a tug of the lead rope to gain his attention back. Lucifer instantly relaxed, proving he was just putting on a show to be a pain in the ass.

"You got everything?" He asked as he closed the door to Lucifer's stall and dropped the halter down in front of it.

"I think that's it," Castiel nodded. "Thank you."

"Sure," Dean pulled out the keys and quickly did a round of the trailer to make sure the doors were secured before driving off to the designated parking area. He took his time unhooking, taking in the hustle and bustle. It was different, but familiar in so many ways. The location and setting was different than the usual rodeos, but the same hurry up and wait mentality was still very much the same. Most of these riders wouldn't even ride until the afternoon, but there was a sense of urgency to get there and set up far in advance.

By the time he made it back to their barn Tessa had joined them and they were almost finished getting their area set. Water buckets and halters were hung, tack was set up in an orderly fashion in their extra stall, and the banner for Novak Eventing hung proudly in blue and tan across the iron bars of their tack room.

Castiel returned, his nose deep in the schedule he had picked up at the check-in table. When he appeared satisfied with that he handed out show numbers and taped the schedule to the wall of the tack room.

"What do you need from me?" Dean asked, leaning against the door as he watched Castiel rummage through his trunk.

"Inias and Ezekiel both have their Dressage rides today. Gadreel likes to braid Ezekiel himself, but I'll need you to do Inias. I am going to go ahead and walk Tessa and Alfie's cross-country tests with them. I like to go through it more than once with those two."

"What, they can't remember the course or something?" Dean raised an eyebrow, surprised at hearing that. With Muriel he wouldn't be so shocked, but it was strange for Alfie and Tessa.

Castiel gave a small smile, "They would remember just fine, but it's a confidence issue. It can't hurt to walk more than once. They might see something differently the second time around."

"Ok, I got ya," Dean shrugged, no need to question it any further as he reached for the braiding bucket next to Castiel's tack trunk. "I'll have Inias all ready to go by the time you get back." Thankfully, Inias was the easiest horse in the barn to braid. He stood perfectly still while Dean worked on his mane, happy enough to munch on the hay net Dean had put in front of him.

Gadreel was working on Ezekiel in the stall next to him, and struck up conversation while their hands worked. "So, things between you and Castiel are better?"

"Wait, what do you mean?" Dean asked, his words muffled by the hair clip that he held in his mouth.

"Well, I was in and out of it on the ride up, but I could have sworn I heard the two of you having civil conversation up front," Gadreel teased.

"Yeah, it was fine," Dean responded somewhat absently, concentrating on the braid he had had to re-do twice now.

"I'm glad to hear it," Gadreel said sincerely. "Castiel could use a good friend, and someone he can trust around the horses and the barn." There was a deliberate pause. "I unfortunately sometimes think a lot of his decline of late has been because of me."

Dean paused in his work to look up in confusion, waiting for some sort of explanation, but Gadreel did not offer it right off. "What do you mean?"

"You never mention a word of it," Gadreel first warned, "but a while back I found out that Castiel had developed romantic feelings for me."

"No way!" Dean shouted louder than he had intended, startling Inias into jerking his head. He gave an apologetic pat and leaned over the gelding's back so that he could converse in a hushed voice. "Really? What did you do?"

Gadreel twisted so that he could face Dean better. "The cowardly thing. Instead of being forth coming and honest with Castiel that I was not interested, I instead starting bringing my new girlfriend around to the barn."

Dean cringed. "Dick move."

"Yes," Gadreel agreed. "Castiel and I had been friends for so long I was afraid of hurting our relationship by confronting him. This way I figured he would be ignorant to the fact I had known and would hopefully lose interest. He never made any sorts of moves, but he got worse with his moods afterwards. It was enough for me to realize I had made a mistake."

"Hope she was worth it," Dean huffed as he went back to working on Inias's mane. He felt honestly bad for Castiel. Rejection was never easy, but to be told off that way was a punch to the gut.

"Well, she has a ring, so I would say so," he smiled lovingly. "It damaged our friendship none-the-less, despite Castiel's attempts to hide it. I hope having someone else he can go to might lessen the pain with time." Gadreel tied off the last braid and stepped off his stool having finished before Dean with his skilled hands.

Dean grabbed the rubber band from his mouth and tied off another braid, smoothing it down with his hands. "You ever gonna tell him you knew?"

"Maybe," Gadreel responded, "If perhaps he ever has found someone where learning of it would be irrelevant because he would have moved on."

"You might be waiting a while, then." He meant it jokingly, but it sounded crueler coming out of his mouth than it had in his head.

"Perhaps not as long as you think, my friend," Gadreel responded.

Before Dean could ask what he meant, Castiel returned with Tessa and Alfie in tow. "Are you almost done?" He asked Dean as he stepped into the stall, Inias greeting him with a nudge to the shoulder.

"Yeah, fifteen minutes maybe?" Dean responded, giving the mane a quick look over. "Why?"

"Because I'm hungry and cold," Castiel said simply, nose wrinkling slightly in annoyance at the question.

Dean gave a snort, "Well ok then. Guess I better make it ten."


End file.
